Investigating Health Literacy of Teachers in Asaluyeh

Background: Health literacy is defined as the ability of individuals to read,understand, and act on health-related concepts in order to make healthydecisions. This study was conducted to determine the level of health literacyof teachers in Asaluyeh city, Iran.Methods: This descriptive study was conducted on 200 teachers who wereselected using stratified random sampling method in Asaluyeh in theacademic year 2015 - 2016. Health Literacy for Iranian Adults questionnaire(HELIA) was used to measure their health literacy. Data were analyzed bySPSS20 and by using descriptive statistics, one way ANOVA, independentsamplesT test, and Pearson correlation coefficient.Results: The mean age of participants was 30.56 years (SD = 4.5(, 59% ofthem were male (n = 118) and 41% were female (n = 82). Teachers healthliteracy status was in moderate level for 9.6% of participants(n = 99) regarding access to information, for 44.6% of participants(n = 89) regarding information comprehension in, for 68.4% of participants(n = 136) regarding judgment and assessment, and for 68.4% of participants(n = 136) regarding information use. We found that health literacy had asignificant relationship with gender and age.Conclusion: In this study, teachers health literacy was at moderate level. So,it is necessary to provide effective internet resources and useful sites. Weshould also conduct health education programs in media such as radio andtelevision to improve health literacy in teachers, especially in moreexperienced teachers.

Keywords:

Health Literacy , Teachers , Asaluyeh city