Journal of Health Literacy

Journal of Health Literacy

Functional Health Literacy Among First-Year University Students in Hungary: The Role of Socio-Demographic Factors

Articles in Press

Document Type : Original Article

Authors
Cintia Horváth 1
Barbara Abonyi 2
Tamás Csányi 3
1 Eötvös Loránd University.
2 Eszterházy Károly Catholic University.
3 Hungarian University of Sports Science.
10.22038/jhl.2026.94605.1940
Abstract
Background and Objective: Health literacy has increasingly been recognised as a key social determinant of health, closely linked to educational pathways and family background. Young adults entering higher education represent a particularly sensitive population, as they are required to make independent health-related decisions while previously accumulated social and educational resources continue to shape their competencies. This study aimed to examine the associations between functional health literacy and socio-demographic background characteristics among first-year university students in Hungary.

Material and Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted between September and October 2025 using a convenience sample of 314 first-year full-time university students. Functional health literacy was assessed using the Hungarian version of the NVS. Socio-demographic inequalities were operationalised using gender, faculty affiliation, place of residence, secondary school type, sport-related programme, participation in a physical education-specialised track, and parental educational attainment. Data were analysed using non-parametric group comparisons, chi-square tests, and multiple linear regression.

Results: Approximately two-thirds of students demonstrated adequate health literacy, while one-quarter had limited and 6.4% inadequate health literacy. Place of residence was significantly associated with health literacy in both score- and category-based analyses, while physical education specialisation was associated with health literacy category distribution. The multivariable model was significant (F (23, 290)=2.042, p=.004; R²=.139; adjusted R²=.071), with significant coefficients for specific categories of place of residence and secondary school type.

Conclusion: The findings suggest that functional health literacy among students entering higher education is relatively homogeneous, although some differences were observed in relation to socio-demographic background characteristics. Given the limited explanatory power of the multivariable model, these associations should be interpreted cautiously. The findings nevertheless highlight the potential relevance of considering students’ social and educational backgrounds when developing health literacy initiatives in higher education.
Keywords
Health Literacy
Students
Educational Status
Socioeconomic Factors
Cross-Sectional Studies

Acknowledgements: The authors would like to express their sincere gratitude to all first-year university students who participated in this study. Their voluntary and thoughtful responses made it possible to examine functional health literacy at a critical transition point into higher education and to situate Hungarian findings within the broader international literature. Their contribution supports a deeper understanding of the social and intergenerational factors shaping health literacy among young adults and provides a foundation for the development of socially sensitive health promotion interventions within higher education settings.


Availability of Data and Materials: The datasets used and analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.


Conflicts of interest: The authors declare that they have no competing interests. 


Consent for publication: Not applicable.


Ethics Approval and Consent to Participate: The study was conducted in accordance with the ethical principles outlined in the Declaration of Helsinki, including voluntary participation, informed consent, and the protection of participants' privacy and confidentiality.  The study was conducted with the approval of the competent Research Ethics Committee of Eszterházy Károly Catholic University. Prior to data collection, all participants received detailed information about the aim, methodology, and data management procedures of the research. Participation was voluntary and anonymous. Before completing the questionnaire, students provided written informed consent, which clearly stated that their participation was voluntary, could be withdrawn at any time without justification, and that their responses would be treated confidentially and used solely for research purposes. All data were processed in accordance with applicable data protection regulations. The dataset was handled confidentially and fully anonymized prior to analysis.


Funding: No financial support was received for this study.

 
Authors’ Contributions: C. H.: Validation, data collection, data curation, methodology, statistical analysis, writing – original draft. B. A.: Conceptualization, writing – review and editing. T. Cs.: Conceptualization, methodology, statistical analysis, writing – review and editing.

 

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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Journal of Health Literacy

Articles in Press, Accepted Manuscript
Available Online from 10 November 2026