Health Literacy and Breast Cancer Preventive Behaviors among Students

 Health literacy (HL) influences adoption of preventive behaviors for breast cancer. This study aimed to examine association between HL and adoption of breast cancer preventive behaviors.

This was a cross sectional study. A sample of students in Qazvin was selected using stratified random sampling method. The data collection instruments included: Health Literacy Instrument for Adults (HELIA) and breast cancer preventive behaviors.

In total 375 students were studied. The mean score for the breast cancer preventive behaviors was 8.92±1.82 (out of 16). Among the five dimensions of HL, the highest mean score was for understanding and the lowest was for decision making and application of health information. Multiple regression analysis showed that the appraisal (β=0.252, P=0.024), decision making and application of health information (β=0.479, P=0.005) were the predictor of the adoption of breast cancer preventive behaviors that jointly explain 48.3% of variance in behavior changes.

The results indicate that in order to prevent breast cancer, educational programs need to focus on HL in general and on some specific skills in particular.