The Effect of Parents' Health Literacy on Primary School Students' Health Screening Results

Health literacy (HL) is defined by the World Health Organization (WHO) as "the achievement of a level of knowledge, personal skills, and confidence to take action to improve individual and community health by changing personal lifestyles and living conditions". Health literacy is described as a concept encompassing various skills that enhance individuals' quality of life, such as accessing accurate health information, developing healthy living behaviours, utilizing healthcare services, and making health-related decisions. To improve the health literacy of society, it is essential first to identify and enhance the health literacy of families, the smallest unit of the community. Adult family members are responsible for their health and play a critical role in fostering healthy behaviours in their children and addressing their health needs.

Aim: Health screenings, particularly for the early diagnosis of health issues in children, are crucial for health preservation and the creation of a healthy society in the future. Therefore, the aim of this study is to determine the health literacy of parents and its impact on the health screening results of students.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Health Literacy; Health Screening

Detailed Description

Health literacy (HL) is defined by the World Health Organization (WHO) as "the achievement of a level of knowledge, personal skills, and confidence to take action to improve individual and community health by changing personal lifestyles and living conditions". Health literacy is a concept encompassing various skills that enhance individuals' quality of life, such as accessing accurate health information, developing healthy living behaviours, utilizing healthcare services, and making health-related decisions. To improve the health literacy of society, it is essential first to identify and enhance the health literacy of families, the smallest unit of the community. Adult family members are responsible for their health and play a critical role in fostering healthy behaviours in their children and addressing their health needs. It is also known that parents act as role models in developing children's positive health behaviours and enhancing their quality of life. Low health literacy is known to be associated with negative health outcomes in adults. In this context, it is stated that parents who struggle to take responsibility for their health may also face difficulties in meeting their children's health needs, and consequently, inevitably, children frequently encounter health problems. Studies have found that parents with low health literacy struggle with meeting their children's health needs, using healthcare services, taking preventive measures against health risks, proper medication use and monitoring side effects, managing chronic diseases, and encouraging their children to adopt healthy living behaviours. In particular, during the school-age period, which is one of the critical periods for the healthy and successful development of society, as children rapidly develop socially, physically, and cognitively, it is stated that early detection of children's health needs and problems by their parents and the timely receipt of necessary health services can prevent more serious problems that may arise later. In Turkey, recently, the continuous monitoring of the health of schoolchildren, early detection of health risks, and the continuity of practices aimed at promoting health was addressed by the Ministry of National Education, which published the "Regulations on the Working Procedures and Principles of School Health Nurses" on 20/04/2020. As a result, school health nurses have been employed by this regulation. Under the "Regulation on the Amendment of the Nursing Regulation" published by the Ministry of Health in 2011, school health nursing, which is a dimension of public health nursing, includes health screenings as one of the practices that can be carried out independently. Health screenings are crucial for the early diagnosis of children's health problems, health preservation, and the creation of a healthy society in the future. Therefore, the aim of this study is to determine the health literacy of parents and its impact on the health screening results of students. It is believed that the study could contribute to the development of health services and policies aimed at increasing public health and health literacy, preventing health inequalities, and increasing the visibility of school health nursing activities, which are becoming increasingly important. This, in turn, would contribute to the protection and improvement of both parental and child health.

• Study Type: Observational
• Enrollment (Actual): 376

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• Turkey (Türkiye)
  • Düzce, Turkey (Türkiye), 81100
    • Duzce University

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: Child; Adult; Older Adult
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

• Sampling Method: Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

The research will be conducted at Sancaklar Primary School, located in the centre of Düzce, between September 2024 and June 2025. A total of 188 students and their parents attending Sancaklar Primary School will be included in the study.

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Students and parents attending Sancaklar Primary School located in Düzce city centre.
• Voluntary participation in the study.

Exclusion Criteria:

• Parents who do not agree to participate in the study and their children will be excluded from the research.

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Number of groups / cohorts

2

Cohorts and Interventions

Group / Cohort
Parents; This group consists of parents of students studying in primary school. The Personal Information Form and the Turkey Health Literacy Scale will be completed by the parents.
Students; This group consists of students studying in primary school. The Student General Health Form and the Student Screening Follow-up Form will be completed for the student.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Health literacy	The Turkey Health Literacy Scale was developed by Okyay and Abacıgil in 2016 to assess health literacy, in line with the European Health Literacy Research Consortium. The scale consists of 32 questions. It has a 2x4 matrix structure, with two dimensions (treatment and services, and disease prevention/health promotion) and four processes (accessing health-related information, understanding health-related information, evaluating health-related information, and using/applying health-related information), making a total of eight components. The Cronbach's Alpha value of the scale is 0.927. The scale is rated as follows: "1. Very Easy, 2. Easy, 3. Neither easy nor difficult, 4. Difficult, 5. Very Difficult." The health literacy level is categorized into four groups based on the score obtained: (0-25) points: Inadequate health literacy, (>25-33) points: Problematic - limited health literacy, (>33-42) points: Adequate health literacy, (>42-50) points: Excellent health literacy.	one day
Health Screening (Height)	The height (m) of primary school students will be measured by meter	From March 2025 to May 2025
Health Screening (Weight)	Primary school students' weight (kg) will be measured by scales	From March 2025 to May 2025
Health Screening (Body Mass Index)	Body mass index (kg/m^2) will be calculated after weight and height measurement.	From March 2025 to May 2025
Health Screening (The temperature)	The temperature of primary school students will be measured with a thermometer	From March 2025 to May 2025
Health Screening (Pulse rate)	The pulse rate per minute (beats/min) of primary school students will be measured.	From March 2025 to May 2025
Health Screening (The respiratory rate)	The respiratory rate per minute of primary school students will be measured.	From March 2025 to May 2025
Health Screening (Blood Pressure)	Primary school students' blood pressure will be measured with child-friendly blood pressure monitors.	From March 2025 to May 2025
Health Screening (Oral and Dental Health Screening)	Oral and dental health screenings will be conducted for primary school students.	From March 2025 to May 2025
Health Screening (Hair, Ear and Nail Evaluation)	Hair, ear and nail health screenings will be conducted for primary school students.	From March 2025 to May 2025
Health Screening (Scabies)	Primary school students will be screened for scabies.	From March 2025 to May 2025
Health Screening (Eye Screening)	Eye screening of primary school students will be done using Snellen and Snellen E charts.	From March 2025 to May 2025

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Duzce University
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Merve Cakar, PhD, Duzce University

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): October 24, 2024
• Primary Completion (Actual): May 13, 2026
• Study Completion (Actual): May 13, 2026

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: December 10, 2024
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: February 10, 2025
• First Posted (Actual): February 11, 2025

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): May 18, 2026
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: May 15, 2026
• Last Verified: May 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: Health literacy; Primary school students; Health screening
• Other Study ID Numbers: Duzce-U-merve0004

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: NO

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No