Exploring the Influence of Health Literacy on Decision-Making Preferences Among Pharmacy Students

Introduction: One of the most important components of health promotion is health literacy. Since health literacy affects many aspects of daily life, including work, school, community involvement, and cultural practices, pharmacy students were primarily chosen as the main stakeholders, given their pivotal role in shaping and applying health knowledge. This study aimed to assess the levels of health literacy and decision-making preferences among pharmacy students, examining the influence of degree, age, course, and gender over a six-month period, without a predetermined sample size. Methods: Students' health literacy levels were assessed using the 16-item short form of the European Health Literacy Survey Questionnaire (HLS-EU-Q16). This instrument evaluates perceived ease or difficulty in obtaining, understanding, evaluating, and applying health information across three domains: health care, disease prevention, and health promotion. Results: The mean health literacy score among students in this study was 46.95 ± 6.86. A Chisquare test was performed to analyze the relationship between students’ pharmacy courses or pharmacy degrees and their knowledge levels, and the results were found to be significant (p = 0.001 for both). Overall, approximately 72.4% of students demonstrated excellent health literacy. Discussion: Analysis of variance (ANOVA) was performed to assess the factors influencing decision-making preferences among pharmacy students. The results showed that degree, age, and course had a significant effect on the ability to apply health information (p = 0.001, 0.002, and 0.001, respectively), whereas gender did not have a significant effect on the health information application score (p = 0.780). Conclusion: Higher education is often linked to improved health literacy and a greater desire to participate in healthcare decisions. This study provided new insights into how health literacy affects pharmacy students' functioning and overall health.