Evaluation of the Relationship Between Health Literacy and Health-Promoting and Protective Behaviours Among Women: A Cross-Sectional Study in Bandırma

Purpose: Although there are studies evaluating the relationship between health literacy and health-promoting and protective behaviours, research focusing on women in developing countries appears to be limited. This study aims to evaluate the relationship between health literacy and health-promoting and protective behaviours among the female population in Bandırma. Methods: The sample for this cross-sectional study consisted of 400 women. The Sociodemographic Information Form, the Health Literacy Scale, and the Health-Promoting and Protective Behaviours Scale were used as data collection tools. The data were collected using a convenience sampling method. Pearson correlation was applied to assess the relationships between variables, while the t-test and ANOVA were used to evaluate differences. Results: Health literacy was found to be significantly and positively associated with health-promoting and protective behaviours. A statistically significant difference was identified between health literacy and age, marital status, education level, income level, and the presence of chronic disease (p