Health literacy and its relationship with mental health and quality of life in freshmen students

Abstract Introduction Health literacy is an effective indicator of people’s health level. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate health literacy and its relationship with mental health and quality of life in first-year medical sciences students. Methods and materials The cross-sectional study wa...

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Main Authors: Amirhossein Alinejad-Tilaki, Shabnam Omidvar, Farzan Kheirkhah, Afsaneh Bakhtiari, Hemmat Gholinia
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: BMC 2025-01-01
Series:BMC Public Health
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-024-21202-4
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author Amirhossein Alinejad-Tilaki
Shabnam Omidvar
Farzan Kheirkhah
Afsaneh Bakhtiari
Hemmat Gholinia
author_facet Amirhossein Alinejad-Tilaki
Shabnam Omidvar
Farzan Kheirkhah
Afsaneh Bakhtiari
Hemmat Gholinia
author_sort Amirhossein Alinejad-Tilaki
collection DOAJ
description Abstract Introduction Health literacy is an effective indicator of people’s health level. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate health literacy and its relationship with mental health and quality of life in first-year medical sciences students. Methods and materials The cross-sectional study was conducted on freshmen- students of Babol University of Medical Sciences, Iran. 311 students were selected using a multi-stage sampling method. Data was collected by 4 questionnaires including demographic, health literacy questionnaire, General health questionnaire (GHQ-12), and quality of life (short form) (SF-12). Analysis of the data was done using SPSS version 22. Results The subjects were 45.5% female and 54.5% male. Almost 60% had adequate/excellent health literacy. A significant relationship between health literacy and the variables of gender and place of residence was found. The results indicated that health literacy, age, educational level, and residential place were predictors of students’ mental health. The regression test results showed that the variables of health literacy, age, educational program, and residential place were predictors of students’ mental health. The students’ mean score of quality of life was 68.81 ± 16.56. The regression test indicated that health literacy, educational level, and residential place were predictors of students’ quality of life. Conclusion This study emphasizes the central role of health literacy in shaping the mental health and quality of life of freshmen students.
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issn 1471-2458
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spelling doaj-art-90947edb6e924370b56e9bca5e7aaeac2025-01-12T12:42:41ZengBMCBMC Public Health1471-24582025-01-012511810.1186/s12889-024-21202-4Health literacy and its relationship with mental health and quality of life in freshmen studentsAmirhossein Alinejad-Tilaki0Shabnam Omidvar1Farzan Kheirkhah2Afsaneh Bakhtiari3Hemmat Gholinia4Student Research Committee, Babol University of Medical SciencesSocial Determinants of Health Research Center, Health Research Institute, Babol University of Medical SciencesSocial Determinants of Health Research Center, Health Research Institute, Babol University of Medical SciencesSocial Determinants of Health Research Center, Health Research Institute, Babol University of Medical SciencesSocial Determinants of Health Research Center, Health Research Institute, Babol University of Medical SciencesAbstract Introduction Health literacy is an effective indicator of people’s health level. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate health literacy and its relationship with mental health and quality of life in first-year medical sciences students. Methods and materials The cross-sectional study was conducted on freshmen- students of Babol University of Medical Sciences, Iran. 311 students were selected using a multi-stage sampling method. Data was collected by 4 questionnaires including demographic, health literacy questionnaire, General health questionnaire (GHQ-12), and quality of life (short form) (SF-12). Analysis of the data was done using SPSS version 22. Results The subjects were 45.5% female and 54.5% male. Almost 60% had adequate/excellent health literacy. A significant relationship between health literacy and the variables of gender and place of residence was found. The results indicated that health literacy, age, educational level, and residential place were predictors of students’ mental health. The regression test results showed that the variables of health literacy, age, educational program, and residential place were predictors of students’ mental health. The students’ mean score of quality of life was 68.81 ± 16.56. The regression test indicated that health literacy, educational level, and residential place were predictors of students’ quality of life. Conclusion This study emphasizes the central role of health literacy in shaping the mental health and quality of life of freshmen students.https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-024-21202-4Health literacyStudentsYoungQuality of lifeMental health
spellingShingle Amirhossein Alinejad-Tilaki
Shabnam Omidvar
Farzan Kheirkhah
Afsaneh Bakhtiari
Hemmat Gholinia
Health literacy and its relationship with mental health and quality of life in freshmen students
BMC Public Health
Health literacy
Students
Young
Quality of life
Mental health
title Health literacy and its relationship with mental health and quality of life in freshmen students
title_full Health literacy and its relationship with mental health and quality of life in freshmen students
title_fullStr Health literacy and its relationship with mental health and quality of life in freshmen students
title_full_unstemmed Health literacy and its relationship with mental health and quality of life in freshmen students
title_short Health literacy and its relationship with mental health and quality of life in freshmen students
title_sort health literacy and its relationship with mental health and quality of life in freshmen students
topic Health literacy
Students
Young
Quality of life
Mental health
url https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-024-21202-4
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AT farzankheirkhah healthliteracyanditsrelationshipwithmentalhealthandqualityoflifeinfreshmenstudents
AT afsanehbakhtiari healthliteracyanditsrelationshipwithmentalhealthandqualityoflifeinfreshmenstudents
AT hemmatgholinia healthliteracyanditsrelationshipwithmentalhealthandqualityoflifeinfreshmenstudents