RESEARCH ON THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN HEALTH LITERACY AND ORGAN DONATION

Thousands of patients who could be saved lose their lives every year due to insufficient organ donation. One of the most important barriers to organ donation is lack of knowledge. Lack of knowledge is directly related to health literacy. Low health literacy has negative effects on individuals and society. This study aims to examine the effect of health literacy on organ donation attitude. Health Literacy Scale and Organ Transplantation and Donation Attitude Scale were used in the study. Of the participants (N=652), 69.3% were female and 51.2% were married. The age distribution of the participants was 58.1% between 20-30 years and 49.8% were undergraduate graduates. Significant differences were found between genders, age groups and marital status in terms of health literacy and organ donation attitudes. A significant difference was found between education level and organ donation attitude. Finally, the study showed that participants' health literacy significantly and positively affected their attitudes towards organ donation, positive attitudes towards organ donation and negative attitudes towards organ donation.