Health Literacy, COVID-19 Vaccine Literacy and Related Factors of Individuals Registered with a Family Health Center

Background: This study aimed to examine health literacy and COVID-19 vaccine literacy levels among adults and the factors associated with these levels. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in a family health center in Ankara in October-November-December 2021. The sample consisted of 372 adults who agreed to participate in the study. The Personal Information Form, the Health Literacy Scale, and the COVID-19 Vaccine Literacy Scale were used to collect data. Results: It was determined that 55,6% of the participants were women, 52,2% were between the ages of 40-64, 65,1% were married, 51,6% were university graduates, 50,3% had income equal to their expenses, 39,5% had chronic diseases, 85,8% of them had not contracted COVID-19, and 3,5% had not been vaccinated against COVID-19. The mean score of the Health Literacy Scale was 108.19 (SD=14.63). The mean score of the COVID-19 Vaccine Literacy Scale was 2.74 (SD=0.60). The health literacy and COVID-19 vaccine literacy scores of the elderly, individuals with low education and low income levels were found to be significantly lower (p<0.05). Education level, being vaccinated against COVID-19 or not, and health literacy explained 37% of COVID-19 Vaccine Literacy. Conclusions: The current study found that the health literacy level of the participants was sufficient, and the COVID-19 vaccine literacy level was moderate. It was determined that age group, level of education, and level of income affected these levels. In addition, education level, COVID-19 vaccination status and health literacy level were determined as predictors of COVID-19 vaccine literacy. It is recommended to consider predictive factors to increase COVID-19 vaccine literacy.