The Relationship Between Health-Seeking Behaviours and Health Literacy by Gender

Abstract

Objective: This study aimed to examine the effect of gender on health-seeking behaviour and the relationship between health literacy and health-seeking behaviour.Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study included individuals aged 18 years and older. The required minimum sample size was 381 participants, and data were collected from 490 individuals using the Health-Seeking Behaviour Scale and the European Health Literacy Scale (HLS19-Q12). Data were analysed using IBM SPSS Statistics version 25.0 with descriptive statistics, the chi-square test, the independent-samples t-test, one-way analysis of variance, and correlation analysis.Results: Of the participants, 56.3% were female, and 43.7% were male. Health literacy differed significantly by gender (χ² = 8.697, p = 0.034), with women demonstrating higher levels of adequate and excellent health literacy than men. Women also had significantly higher scores for online health-seeking behaviour (t = 1.985, p = 0.048), professional health-seeking behaviour (t = 4.481, p < 0.001), and overall health-seeking behaviour (t = 2.749, p = 0.006). No significant gender difference was observed in traditional health-seeking behaviour (p = 0.692). Educational attainment was significantly associated with both health literacy and health-seeking behaviour, whereas age and marital status were not. Health literacy was positively correlated with health-seeking behaviour.Conclusion: Women demonstrated higher health literacy and greater engagement in health-seeking behaviours than men. Educational attainment was also associated with both health literacy and health-seeking behaviour. These findings suggest that gender-sensitive interventions and strategies to improve health literacy may enhance healthcare utilisation and support more informed health-related decision-making.