Health Literacy and Relationship Factors in Exercise Behavior Affecting Health of Students Nakhon Sawan Rajabhat University
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Abstract
This study aimed to determine the levels of health literacy and examine the relationship between specific dimensions of health literacy and exercise behavior among undergraduate students at Nakhon Sawan Rajabhat University. Methodology was a quantitative cross-sectional survey. Sample was conducted among 284 undergraduate students, selected via stratified random sampling. The research instruments included the European Health Literacy Survey Questionnaire (HLS-EU-Q) and the Exercise-Related Factors Questionnaire. Data was collected through paper-based formats online and analyzed using descriptive statistics and inferential statistics, including Chi-square and Fisher’s Exact tests, with a significance level set at p < 0.05. The findings revealed that four out of six health literacy dimensions had a statistically significant positive relationship with exercise attitudes: Access to Health Information and Services (p=0.016), Interacting to Increase Knowledge (p=0.012), Changing One's Own Health Behavior (p=0.014), and Presenting Health Information (p=0.018). In these dimensions, students with high literacy levels reported overwhelmingly positive attitudes toward exercise. Conversely, Understanding Health Information (p=0.069) and Making Health Decisions (p=0.057) did not reach statistical significance. Interestingly, these cognitive and evaluative dimensions showed an inverse descriptive trend, where higher literacy scores were associated with more negative or realistic attitudes toward exercise, suggesting a "burden of knowledge" regarding the complexities of health maintenance. The study demonstrates that social, functional, and advocacy-based health literacy are the primary drivers of positive exercise attitudes among university students. While technical understanding of health information is important, it does not directly translate into motivation. Therefore, health promotion interventions should focus on simplifying access to services, fostering communicative confidence, and encouraging peer-led health advocacy to effectively improve exercise behaviors and overall student health.
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