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Abstract
Aim In this study, it was aimed to investigate the effects of health literacy on obstetric decisions in women of reproductive age living in our region.
Methods: This study was carried out on 400 registered women aged 15-49 who voluntarily participated in the survey in January 2018 - April 2018 period. In the survey, a questionnaire questioning the sociodemographic characteristics of the patients and a Turkish translated Health Literacy Survey-European Union (HLS-EU-47) questionnaire were used to measure the level of health literacy.
Results: As a result of the research, in the reproductive age women living in our region, the health literacy was determined as 7.5% adequate / excellent. Mothers who breastfed their baby for 12 months were found to have higher levels of health literacy in terms of disease prevention than those who did not breastfeed or who breastfed for longer than 12 months (p= 0.022). The educational status of women was correlated with HLS-EU-47 scores (p< 0.001). Those with good income have higher scores on HLSEU-47 (p< 0.001). Health literacy was not found to have an impact on obstetric decisions to have OGTT and tetanus vaccination and influenza vaccination in pregnancy (p= 0.106; 0.362; 0.123 respectively). Participants who had a double screening test were found to have higher HLS-EU-47 scores in terms of disease prevention (p=0.005).
Conclusions: The rates of health literacy are quite low in women of reproductive age in our region. The impact of health literacy on obstetric decisions is shown in the study. Improving health literacy in women will have a direct impact on family health especially in terms of disease prevention.