The association between health literacy, COVID-19 knowledge and adherence to preventive measures in Turkey

Despite vaccination and various prevention policies, the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic maintains its negative effects globally. Therefore, people must be adequately informed and put this knowledge into practice in order to take the necessary precautions. This can be achieved with adequate health literacy. In this context, this study was conducted to determine the relationship between health literacy, COVID-19 knowledge and adherence to preventive measures. The sample of this descriptive cross-sectional online survey consisted of 1086 people. Data were collected using a demographics questionnaire, the European Health Literacy Scale, the COVID-19 Knowledge Assessment Questionnaire and the COVID-19 Adherence Assessment Questionnaire. Participants' health literacy index had a median score of 30.9, with 67.5% having inadequate or problematic health literacy. Gender, age, education, marital status, region of residence, employment status and economic status were associated with health literacy (p < 0.05). Participants' median knowledge and adherence scores were 40 and 54, respectively. There were significant positive correlations between health literacy index, knowledge and adherence scores (p < 0.001). This study demonstrated that health literacy, COVID-19 knowledge and adherence were associated with each other. As a result, strategies aimed at improving health literacy may be beneficial in terms of having better knowledge and demonstrating high adherence to measures, thus, eradicating the COVID-19 pandemic, reducing COVID-19-related conditions and promoting public health.