Health Literacy among University Students: A Comparative Study between Health-Related and Non-Health-Related Academic Fields

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Master’s Students in Community Health Development Program, Department of Community, Family and Occupational Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Khon Kaen University, Thailand

2 Department of Community, Family and Occupational Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Khon Kaen University, Thailand.

Abstract

Background and Objectives: Health literacy is increasingly recognized as a crucial competency for university students, especially in developing countries like Indonesia, where disparities in health education across academic disciplines may impact health outcomes. Students in non-health-related fields may have limited exposure to health information, potentially leading to gaps in preventive behavior and healthcare decision-making. This study aimed to compare the levels of health literacy between students from health-related and non-health-related academic fields and to assess the association between academic discipline and health literacy status among undergraduate students in Semarang, Indonesia.

Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted from September to December 2024 among 505 undergraduate students at Diponegoro University. Participants were selected using simple random sampling. Health literacy was measured using the validated Indonesian version of the HLS-EU-Q16, which demonstrated high internal consistency (Cronbach’s α = 0.854). Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, chi-square tests (including Monte Carlo simulation and Fisher–Freeman–Halton exact tests when appropriate), and odds ratio analysis. To address the imbalance in group sizes between academic fields, a matched sample analysis (n = 274) was conducted by randomly selecting 137 non-health-related respondents to match the number of health-related students.

Results: In the full sample, 72.9% of respondents had sufficient, 23.0% had problematic, and 4.2% had inadequate health literacy. A significant association was found between academic field and health literacy level (p < 0.001). Students in health-related faculties were significantly less likely to have low health literacy (OR = 0.351; 95% CI: 0.185–0.668; p < 0.001). This finding was consistent in the matched sample analysis (OR = 0.305; 95% CI: 0.166–0.561; p < 0.001), confirming the robustness of the association regardless of sample imbalance.

Conclusion: Students in health-related programs had significantly higher health literacy levels, likely due to greater exposure to health content in their curriculum. These findings highlight the need to integrate health literacy education into non-health programs to reduce disparities. Interdisciplinary efforts and digital literacy strategies may help equip all students with the skills needed to manage their health effectively.

Keywords

Acknowledgment: The authors would like to express their sincere gratitude to Khon Kaen University for academic support and scholarship funding, and to Diponegoro University for providing access and assistance during the data collection process.


Availability of data and materials: The datasets generated and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.


Conflict of Interest: The authors declare no conflict of interest.


Consent for publication: Not applicable as this study does not include images or personal identifying information of participants.


Ethics approval and consent to participate: This study was conducted in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki. The Khon Kaen University Ethics Committee for Human Research granted ethical clearance for the research (Approval No. HE671228). All participants provided informed consent prior to participation.


Funding:The KKU ASEAN and GMS Countries’ Personnel Scholarship and Faculty of Medicine, Khon Kaen University.


Authors’ contribution: NA and SB conceptualized and designed the study. NA collected the data, performed the analysis, interpreted the findings, and drafted the manuscript. SB provided supervision and critically reviewed the manuscript for important intellectual content. All authors approved the final version for submission. 

 

Open Access Policy: This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. To view a copy of this licence, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

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