The Effect of Bibliotherapy on Primary School Students' Health Literacy and Emergency Service Awareness: Single Group Quasi-Experimental Study

Aim: The aim of this study was to enhance primary school students' knowledge levels concerning health literacy and awareness of emergency department services through the use of bibliotherapy. Material and Methods: This study employed a pre-test and post-test, one-group quasi-experimental design. The study sample consisted of 62 fourth-grade primary school students. Data were collected using the "Personal Information Form", "Health Literacy Scale for School-Age Children", and "Structured Questions on Emergency Service Awareness". A paired samples t-test was used to compare the dependent groups. The relationship between dependent categorical variables was examined using the McNemar test. A significance level of 0.05 was used as the criterion for interpreting whether the obtained values were statistically significant. Results: A statistically significant difference was found between the pre-test and post-test scores of primary school students regarding their knowledge levels related to emergency department awareness (t61= -2.29; p<0.05). The increase in students' knowledge about triage colors in the emergency department and their understanding of the concept of triage was also statistically significant following bibliotherapy intervention (p<0.05). The improvement in knowledge regarding appropriate situations for emergency department visits was also found to be statistically significant (p<0.05). However, bibliotherapy was not found to have a statistically significant effect on the health literacy levels of primary school students, as there was no significant difference between their pre-test and post-test scores (p>0.05). Conclusion: It was concluded that bibliotherapy was effective in increasing primary school students' knowledge about the appropriate use of emergency services. In line with the topics covered in the bibliotherapy text, students were found to have learned the emergency department triage color codes, understood the concept of triage, and improved their knowledge of situations that require emergency care. These findings suggest that bibliotherapy-based course content can be developed to raise awareness among children—beginning from primary education—regarding the appropriate and effective use of healthcare services. Such initiatives should be supported by a multidisciplinary approach that integrates emergency medicine, psychiatric nursing, and educational sciences.