Abstract
Background: Health literacy has a measure of capacity to access, understand, assess, and apply health information in individuals’ decision-making processes to maintain and improve life-quality quality of life. Research is a descriptive study aiming to determine the health literacy level of medical secretary’ students who are health professionals and the influencing factors of health literacy in the future. 
 Method: The research was conducted between April 30 and June 1, 2018, and the study group consisted of 55 medical secretary students who study in Ankara University Vocational School of Health in Turkey. The participants were given the questionnaire which was composed of 3 sections (socio-demographic information, health status, and the Health Literacy Survey-European Union/HLS-EU scale) and 70 questions used for data collection purposes.
 Results: The average age of the group was 21.4±4.1. The average score of participants’ general health literacy index was calculated as 33.9±7.42 (n=55). Approximately 70% of participants (n=55) were found to have adequate health literacy.
 Conclusions: It is very important that the medical secretaries working as secretarial and patient orientation personnel in the health sector are health literate in terms of their own health and health service quality. Health literacy can't be considered independent of the general literacy level. Hence, in the lifelong learning process, individuals need to be supported in school and work life.
Highlights
Nowadays, the health system has become the more complex structure for both supply and demand
The study group consisted of the students (n=84) who study at Ankara University Vocational School of Health Services, the Medical Secretary programme in 2018
It was found that approximately 70% of the 55 associate medical secretarial students studying at Ankara University in 2018 and volunteering to participate in the research have sufficient health literacy
Summary
The health system has become the more complex structure for both supply and demand. The facts do not always coincide with this assumption (Kripalani et al, 2010; Kutner, Greenburg, Jin, & Paulsen, 2006; Mitchell, Sadikova, Jack, & Paasche-Orlow, 2012; Parker, Baker, Williams, & Nurss, 1995; Sørensen et al, 2015; Turkoglu et al, 2018; von Wagner, Knight, Steptoe, & Wardle, 2007; Wallston et al, 2014; Yuen, Knight, Ricciardelli, & Burney, 2018) Such that the complexity of the diagnostic processes, the increase in the addition of medical information every day, the level and the differences of general education and culture of the people, the increase in the number of migrants and the accompanying problems, age-related physical and cognitive problems, understanding, listening, learning and remembering skills, and other psychosocial factors are negatively affecting the level of health literacy, health care delivery is facing even more difficult situations (Kripalani et al, 2010; Mitchell et al, 2012; Parker et al, 1995; von Wagner et al, 2007; Wallston et al, 2014; Yuen et al, 2018). In the lifelong learning process, individuals need to be supported in school and work life
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
