The Relationship between Health Literacy, Health Perception, and Health Anxiety

Cyprus Turkish Journal of Psychiatry & Psychology Vol.8 Issue.2

Doi:10.35365/ctjpp.26.2.05

RESEARCH ARTICLE / ARAŞTIRMA YAZISI

The Relationship between Health Literacy, Health Perception, and Health Anxiety

Sağlık Okuryazarlığı, Sağlık Algısı ve Sağlık Kaygısı Arasındaki İlişki

Emine Murt¹ , Muhammet Gümüş¹, Yılmaz Daşlı²

Abstract:

This study aims to examine the effects of health literacy and health perception on health anxiety among university students. The research population comprised 16,911 undergraduate students, and the sample included 468 participants. Since the assumptions of parametric tests were not met, the Mann–Whitney U test was used to compare two groups, and the Kruskal–Wallis H test was used to compare three or more groups. Of the participants, 67.9% were female, and 32.1% were male; 61.1% were between 17 and 20 years old. Additionally, 86.5% reported no chronic disease, and 83.8% reported not regularly using medication. The mean general health status score was 7.132, and the mean number of physician visits in the past year was 3.991. A negative and significant relationship was found between health anxiety and health perception (r = –0.274, p < 0.001), as well as between health anxiety and health literacy (r = –0.206, p < 0.001). Furthermore, a significant positive relationship was identified between health perception and health literacy (r = 0.427, p < 0.001). Individuals with higher levels of health anxiety were observed to have lower levels of health perception and health literacy. In contrast, individuals with higher health perception demonstrated stronger abilities to access, understand, and evaluate health-related information. The findings indicate that the interaction among health literacy, health perception, and health anxiety has important implications not only at the individual level but also for public health and health policies. Therefore, adopting a holistic approach that encompasses both individual and societal health is recommended.

Keywords: Health literacy, Health anxiety, Attitude to health, Anxiety.

¹Sivas Cumhuriyet University, Institute of Social Sciences, Department of Healthcare Management, Sivas, Türkiye.

²Sivas Cumhuriyet University, Faculty of Health Sciences, Department of Health Management, Sivas, Türkiye.

Address of Correspondence/Yazışma Adresi: Muhammet Gümüş, Sivas Cumhuriyet University, Institute of Social Sciences, Institutes Building (Block J5), No: 79 58140, Sivas, Türkiye, E-mail: [email protected]

Date of Received/Geliş Tarihi: 15.07.2025, Date of Revision/Düzeltme Tarihi: 22.01.2026, Date of Acceptance/Kabul Tarihi:23.01.2026, Date of Online Publication/Çevirimiçi Yayın Tarihi: 15.06.2026

Citing/Referans Gösterimi: Murt, E., Gümüş, M. & Daşlı, Y. (2026). The relationship between health literacy, health perception, and health anxiety, Cyprus Turkish Journal of Psychiatry & Psychology, 8(2), 147-156, Doi:10.35365/ctjpp.26.2.05

© 2026 The Author(s). Published by Cyprus Mental Health Institute / Cyprus Turkish Journal of Psychiatry and Psychology (www.ktppdergisi.com). This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited and is not used for commercial purposes. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/