The relationship between health literacy and the adoption of COVID-19 preventive behaviors: A cross-sectional study in Iran

Background and aim Health literacy (HL) is one of the effective factors in controlling the COVID-19 epidemic. Considering the high prevalence of COVID-19 disease, the present study aimed to determine the relationship between HL and the adoption of COVID-19 preventive behaviors. Materials and methods This was a descriptive-cross sectional study conducted on 214 students selected by simple random sampling method in Esfarayen Faculty of Medical Sciences, Iran, in 2022. The data included demographic and background characteristics, health literacy for Iranian Adults (HELIA), and a valid and reliable questionnaire to measure COVID-19 preventive behaviors. The data were analyzed using SPSS 23, descriptive statistics, and ordinal logistic regression tests. Results The mean and standard deviation of the scores of adoption of COVID-19 preventive behaviors and HL among students were 18.18) 4.02(out of 25 and 72.14) and 12.75 (out of 100, respectively. The results of the logistic regression test showed that the HL (P = 0.003), gender (P<0.001), mother's education (P = 0.039), educational level (P = 0.031), smoking (P = 0.032), and physical activity (P = 0.007) were effective factors in adopting preventive behaviors. Conclusion Adopting preventive behaviors against COVID-19 was lower among students with lower levels of health literacy, male students, students with less physical activity, students with illiterate mothers, undergraduate students, and finally smokers. Therefore, it is necessary to pay more attention to these students in designing educational programs. It is suggested to carry out more extensive studies to clarify the effect of HL on the adoption of COVID-19 preventive behaviors.