Assessing Health Literacy Levels and Information-Seeking Anxiety in Postgraduate Students
Journal of Medical Library and Information Science,
Vol. 5 (2024),
8 January 2024
https://doi.org/10.22037/jmlis.v5i.46381
Abstract
Introduction: Health literacy encompasses the capacity of individuals to obtain, comprehend, assess, and apply health-related information, which is crucial for making informed health choices. Accordingly, the phenomenon of information-seeking anxiety among graduate students, along with the potential influence of health literacy in alleviating this anxiety, underscores the importance of exploring these two areas and their interconnection.
Methods: This study follows a descriptive survey approach. . This study utilized questionnaires assessing health literacy and information-seeking anxiety to gather data. Descriptive statistics (such as mean, standard deviation, minimum, maximum, skewness, and kurtosis) and inferential statistics (including the one-sample t-test and Pearson correlation coefficient) were employed for data analysis. The analysis was conducted using SPSS software, version 26.
Results: The average health literacy score was 68.43, while the overall information-seeking anxiety score was 89.90. The lowest anxiety levels were found in “barriers related to information seeking,” with a mean of 10.8 and a standard deviation of 131.3. Furthermore, a significant negative relationship was found between health literacy levels and students’ anxiety about seeking health information (P<0.05, r= -0.84). This indicates that as students’ health literacy improves, their anxiety about seeking health information tends to decrease.
Conclusion: Enhancing health literacy and refining information-seeking behaviors are crucial for alleviating health information-seeking anxiety among graduate students. Libraries significantly mitigate health-related anxiety and foster self-care practices by offering educational workshops, creating trustworthy health resources, and delivering counseling services.
- Health literacy
- Medical sciences universities
- Anxiety
- Information seeking -behaviour
How to Cite
References
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