Department of Nursing Administration and Education, College of Nursing, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Department of Clinical Pharmacy, College of Pharmacy, King Saud University, Riyadh, 11451, Saudi Arabia.
BMC Med Educ. 2024 Nov 6;24(1):1269. doi: 10.1186/s12909-024-06263-8.
Health literacy is the cognitive and social abilities that influence a person's motivation and capacity to learn, comprehend, and use information to improve and maintain good health. We aimed to investigate Healthcare Students' knowledge, attitudes, and practices regarding Health Literacy in the Riyadh Province of Saudi Arabia.
This study used prevalidated electronic questionnaires among healthcare undergraduates from colleges affiliated with Saudi University in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, from December to April 2024. Healthcare students were asked to answer a self-designed online questionnaire sent to them through social media platforms.
The response rate was 560 out of 600 (93.3%); 293 of the 560 students (52.3%) were aged between 23 and 24 years (mean age was 21.29 SD = 1.852). The mean GPA among the students was 4.31(± 0.682). The average overall score for health literacy among healthcare students was 100.92 ± 11.80. The mean scores for knowledge were 24.17 ± 4.67, attitudes were 38.65 ± 4.20, and practice in health literacy was 38.09 ± 5.09. Among all healthcare students, 50.2% reported good knowledge, 54.1% had good attitudes, and 50.1% exhibited good practices in health literacy. However, students' knowledge (p = 0.019) and training (p = 0.024) in health literacy were significantly associated with smoking cigarettes. Additionally, smoking shisha was significantly associated with students' knowledge (p = 0.022), attitudes (p = 0.001), and practices (p = 0.001) in health literacy.
Our study highlights that half of the healthcare students reported limited knowledge, attitude, and practice in health literacy. Age, gender, and course of study did not show significant differences. Rather, students who did not smoke cigarettes or shisha were found to have higher knowledge, attitudes, and practice in health literacy compared to smokers. However, to improve health literacy, additional education and increased awareness are needed. Further investigation is warranted to address the factors related to poor health literacy.
健康素养是影响个人学习、理解和使用信息以改善和维持健康的动机和能力的认知和社会能力。我们旨在调查沙特阿拉伯利雅得省医学生对健康素养的知识、态度和实践。
本研究使用了沙特阿拉伯利雅得附属沙特大学的医学生预先验证的电子问卷，从 2024 年 12 月至 4 月期间进行。要求医学生通过社交媒体平台回答他们发送的自我设计的在线问卷。
共有 600 名学生中的 560 名（93.3%）做出了回应；560 名学生中有 293 名（52.3%）年龄在 23 至 24 岁之间（平均年龄为 21.29 SD=1.852）。学生的平均 GPA 为 4.31（±0.682）。医学生健康素养的总分平均为 100.92±11.80。知识的平均得分为 24.17±4.67，态度得分为 38.65±4.20，健康素养实践得分为 38.09±5.09。在所有医学生中，50.2%报告有良好的知识，54.1%有良好的态度，50.1%有良好的健康素养实践。然而，学生的知识（p=0.019）和健康素养培训（p=0.024）与吸烟有关。此外，吸水烟与学生的知识（p=0.022）、态度（p=0.001）和健康素养实践（p=0.001）显著相关。
我们的研究表明，一半的医学生报告在健康素养方面的知识、态度和实践有限。年龄、性别和学习课程并没有显示出显著差异。相反，与吸烟者相比，不吸烟或吸水烟的学生在健康素养方面具有更高的知识、态度和实践。然而，为了提高健康素养，需要进行额外的教育和提高认识。需要进一步调查以解决与健康素养差有关的因素。
