Investigating the Relationship between Health Literacy and Covid-19 (A Case of Adult Population in Shiraz City in 2022)

 The coronavirus outbreak and its risk of infection can be considered one of the country’s most important issues during the last two years. Undoubtedly, reducing the coronavirus infection risk requires recognizing variables contributing to its contradiction. This study aimed to investigate the relationship among some of the most important individual characteristics and health literacy and the likelihood of coronavirus infection.

 The study is performed using quantitative methods and survey techniques in March and April 2022. For this purpose, 385 Shirazians aged from 18 to 65 years old were surveyed. This survey was performed using an applied multi-stage cluster sampling method and a standard questionnaire. Information on Covid-19 infection were obtained using a self-reported question. Data analysis was performed by SPSS-20 software using binary logistic regression with a significance level of 0.05.

 The results showed that 66.3% of the respondents had coronavirus. Forty-one percent of participants had an insufficient health literacy level. The logistic regression showed that health literacy is the only variable with a statistically significant effect on coronavirus infection risk (95% CI: 0.938 - 0.981, OR= 0.959). The higher the health literacy, the lower the risk of coronavirus infection.

 Efforts to improve health literacy are an effective method to reduce the risk of pandemic diseases. Health education for people can be helpful. Therefore, health policies should pay more attention to health literacy.