Effect of the COVID-19 Pandemic on University Students’ Health Literacy and Its Impact on Physical Activity and Sleep Quality
SAGE Open, cilt.15, sa.3, 2025 (SSCI, Scopus)
- Yayın Türü: Makale / Tam Makale
- Cilt numarası: 15 Sayı: 3
- Basım Tarihi: 2025
- Doi Numarası: 10.1177/21582440251347632
- Dergi Adı: SAGE Open
- Derginin Tarandığı İndeksler: Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI), Scopus, Education Abstracts, ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Directory of Open Access Journals
- Anahtar Kelimeler: health literacy, pandemic, physical activity, sleep quality, students/education
- Sağlık Bilimleri Üniversitesi Adresli: Evet
Özet
This research aims to determine university students’ health literacy level and to investigate its relationship with physical activity level and sleep quality. Turkey Health Literacy Scale-32 questionnaire was used to examine health literacy levels, taking into account sociodemographic and academic variables physical activity levels were measured using the “International Physical Activity Survey Short Form,” and sleep quality was assessed using the “Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index.” The study included 417 students with an average age of 24.9 years. Among them, 50.1% were enrolled in occupational therapy programs, 26.4% in physiotherapy programs, 11% in other health-related fields, and 12.5% in non-health-related fields. 19.7% of participants were classified as proficient in health literacy. It was found that physiotherapy students had significantly higher health literacy scores compared to students studying occupational therapy and those in non-health-related departments (p1:.026; p2:.021; p < .05). Physiotherapy students achieved the highest results, excelling in the healthcare subfield compared to their scores in disease prevention and health promotion. A statistically significant relationship was found between health literacy, physical activity level and sleep quality (p < .05). Including health literacy courses in the curriculums of university students, especially those studying in health departments, can be very beneficial both for their health and for setting an example as a role model for society.