Occupational health literacy and associated factors among vocational training centre students in a province

Vocational Training Centre (VTC) students are exposed to occupational hazards during training, yet evidence on their occupational health literacy is limited. This study assessed occupational health literacy and associated individual factors among VTC students. This descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted between February and December 2025. A total of 271 students aged ≥ 18 years (range: 18–54 years) were randomly selected from all VTCs in Ankara. Data were collected using a demographic information form and the Occupational Health Literacy Scale. Data were analyzed using IBM SPSS Statistics 27.0. Of the participants, 70.1% were male, with an average age of 21.1 ± 6.3. Male students had significantly higher scores on the ‘use and communication of knowledge’ subscale compared to female students ( p = 0.01). Additionally, students with exercise habits had notably higher scores in this sub-dimension ( p < 0.01). Those who had received occupational health and safety training had higher total scores and ‘evaluating information’ scores ( p < 0.05). Occupational health literacy among VTC students was associated with several individual characteristics, particularly gender, exercise habits, field of study, and occupational health and safety training. These findings can contribute to the development of targeted educational training strategies to improve students’ ability to use and evaluate occupational health information.