The Relationship Between Health Literacy and Attitudes Toward Cancer Screening: An Example from the Easternmost Region of Türkiye

Objective: This study aimed to examine the relationship between health literacy and attitudes toward cancer screening and to raise awareness on this issue. Methods: This study was descriptive and correlational in design. The study was conducted with 630 adults aged 30–70 years living in a province located in eastern Türkiye. After excluding incomplete questionnaires, the analyses were conducted with 624 participants. The research data were collected through face-to-face interviews between April 2023 and June 2024 after obtaining the necessary legal permissions. A Descriptive Information Form, the Türkiye Health Literacy Scale (THLS-32), and the Attitudes Toward Cancer Screening Scale were used as data collection tools. The data were analyzed using SPSS 23.0 software; descriptive statistics, correlation analyses, and regression analyses were performed to examine the relationships between variables. Results: The mean health literacy score of the participants was 31.84±10.74, while the mean attitude score toward cancer screening was 89.69±16.82. The scores of the Türkiye Health Literacy Scale (THLS-32) and the Attitudes Toward Cancer Screening Scale differed significantly according to employment status, place of residence, educational level, presence of chronic disease, and previous cancer screening status (P<.05). In addition, a moderate positive and statistically significant relationship was identified between health literacy and attitudes toward cancer screening (r=.450, P<.001). Conclusion: The findings of the study showed that as health literacy levels increased, attitudes toward cancer screening became more positive. This result indicates that health literacy plays an important role in the development of positive attitudes toward cancer screening. © Content of this journal is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 4.0 International License.