Health Literacy and Health-Promoting Behaviors in Southern Iran

Background and Objective: Health promoting behaviors are fundamental and important activities for the development and maintenance of health in individuals. However, people with inadequate health literacy are in a worse health position. Today, health literacy is considered a main factor involved in healthcare outcomes and costs. The present research aimed to determine the level of health literacy among the 18–64 year old residents of Hormozgan Province in association with health promotion behaviors.   Materials and Methods: This cross sectional study on 840 subjects aged from 18 to 64 years, who referred to the urban and rural health centers in Hormozgan, Iran. They were selected through a multistratified sampling method in 2017. The data collection instrument was a questionnaire comprised of a demographic section, the test of functional health literacy in adults (TOFHLA), and Walkers’ health promoting lifestyle profile (HPLPII). The data were analyzed by SPSS version 23 based on the descriptive and analytical statistics tests.   Results: The mean and standard deviation of the subjects’ age was 30.6±8.2 years. Most of the participants (586, 72.2%) had an adequate level of health literacy and 226 subjects (27.8%) had inadequate health literacy. The mean and standard deviation of the overall health promotion behavior was found to be 142.95±20.11, interpreted as an acceptable level. The highest average value was observed in the subclass of self actualization (27.7±4.9) and the lowest mean related to the subclass of physical activity (17.4±5.4). Internet (43.1%) and appealing to the health care team (36.9%) were 43.1% and 36.9%, respectively.   Conclusion: Our findings showed that educational plans are essential based on different domains of health promotion behaviors with a focus on physical activity. It is also necessary to plan for educating different dimensions of health literacy in the virtual world and social health networks.