Investigating the Role of Spiritual Health in Health Literacy and Breast Self-examination Awareness Among Female High School Students in Shiraz, Iran

Background and Objectives: This study aims to investigate whether a relationship is observed between spiritual health and health literacy among female teenagers, especially in terms of their attitudes toward breast self-examination. Methods: This study was a cross-sectional survey. Using multi-stage cluster sampling, 600 female students in grades 10 and 11 were chosen. A standard health literacy questionnaire created by Montazeri et al. and a 20-item spiritual health questionnaire created by Paloutzian and Ellison were used. Data were analyzed using SPSS software, version 22. Results: Most respondents had moderate health literacy and spiritual health with a positive and significant correlation (r=0.32). Health literacy has also been linked to maternal education and lower social class affiliation. Spiritual health was shown to be the vital variable in explaining health literacy in the regression. Conclusion: The research results showed the importance of spiritual health in health literacy and attitude towards health and preventive behaviors. Policymakers should give much more importance to spiritual health, especially in existential and non-ritual religious forms, in designing preventive interventions.