Determining Health Literacy Level of Women with Gynecological Cancer and Affecting Factors

Abstract

Aim: This study was conducted to determine the health literacy levels of women with gynecological cancer and the affecting factors. Method: The sample of this descriptive and cross-sectional study consisted of 128 women who volunteered to participate in the study and were treated in the gynecological oncology service of the Oncology Center of a Training and Research Hospital in Izmir between January and June 2021. Data were collected by face-to-face interview method using a questionnaire and HLS. Results: In the study, the mean age of women with gynecological cancer is 60.81±11.18. The mean total score of the women's HLS is 94.38±13.91. The factors that are found to be significantly (p<0.05) associated with the level of health literacy are the education level of the women, the number of children, the employment status, and the number of hospital admissions in a year. In the study, the type of gynecological cancer, the number of regimens, the type of treatment, the duration of the disease, the age of onset of the disease, and the period without treatment were not associated with health literacy (p>0.05). Conclusion: In the study, it was concluded that the health literacy level of women was sufficient, the factors affecting health literacy were generally socio-demographic variables, and the disease characteristics and health behaviors did not affect the health literacy level.