Exploring Health Literacy of Medical Students: A Cross-Sectional Study

Abstract New generation of medical students has access to multiple sources of health information of varying quality. This easy access to information sources does not imply definitely that medical students have the necessary skills to understand and judge the adequacy of published health information. Limited research available shows that even among health professionals there are gaps in knowledge, as well as challenges in understanding and assessing capacities related both to individual and environmental health literacy. Objective We aimed at exploring the health literacy of medical students and the way they find, understand, appraise and use health information. Methods This cross-sectional study was conducted during the 2018/19 academic year at Medical University – Sofia. An adapted and supplemented version of European Health Literacy Survey Questionnaire (EU-HLS-Q) was administered to all 2-nd year medical students who had attended social medicine practical classes (n = 650). Health literacy index (HLI) was calculated. The response rate was 88% (n = 575). Results The study found that mean HLI of all participating students was 32.55 falling into the category “problematic”. Statistically significant differences were found between Bulgarian and international students in respect to the general HLI, as well as to the many of health related skills and competencies (p < 0.05). Conclusion The observed differences were probably due to socially and culturally conditioned factors. However, the main difficulties that all students encountered were in the area of evaluating and judging information relevant to health. Through this study we identified weak areas within the health literacy scope of medical students. The high prevalence of limited health literacy among medical students presents a significant challenge for medical universities. Health literacy resources and competencies should be developed as a life-long continuous process at all levels and kinds of educational institutions including undergraduate medical education.