Health Literacy of General Surgery Patients: A Cross-sectional Study.

Purpose: Health literacy is a complex issue that affects the health outcomes of surgical patients. This study aimed to determine the health literacy of general surgery patients.

Design: A descriptive cross-sectional study.

Methods: The sample of the descriptive study consisted of 420 patients who applied to the general surgery outpatient clinic of the hospital between December 2019 and April 2020. Research data were collected using the "Patient Information Form" and "Health Literacy Index" prepared by the researchers in line with the literature. The score ranges of the Health Literacy Index are a minimum of 5 and a maximum of 25. Data were analyzed by number and percentile distribution, mean, standard deviation, t test, and one-way analysis of variance.

Findings: The mean age of the participants in the study was 47.58 ± 14.92 years and 56.2% of them were women. Participants' Health Literacy Index total score average was determined as 101.33 ± 18.56. Individuals received a maximum score of 25 points in access to information and a minimum score of 7 points in understanding the information from the subindices. There was a statistically significant difference between the demographic characteristics (eg, age, marital status, gender, education level, occupation, place of residence) of the participants and their health literacy levels.

Conclusions: The health literacy levels of the participants in the research are adequate and at a good level. We recommend evaluation of health literacy levels in surgical patients to reduce complications and enable patients to participate effectively in care.