The Relationship between Health Literacy and Health Promoting Behaviors in Students

Health promoting behaviors are essential to sustain the adolescent health and people with inadequate health literacy have poorer health status. The aim of this study was to determine the status of health literacy and its relationship with health behaviors in students.
This cross-sectional study was conducted on 400 high school students in Bandar Abbas city. A multistage sampling method was applied. Data were collected using the Adolescent Health Promotion Scale and health literacy questionnaires. Data were analyzed using spss ver.19 software and independent t-test, regression and Pearson tests.
The mean of health promoting behaviors and health literacy scores in boys were 5/64 and 9/68 and in girls were 6/57 and 9/67, respectively. A significant difference was observed between the mean scores of health promoting behaviors of boys and girls (p In general, health literacy and health promoting behaviors in students is lower than optimal. The results of this study showed the need for health education programs based on the areas of health promoting behaviors and health literacy components.