Investigation of Colorectal Cancer Fatalism and Health Literacy of University Staff and Factors Affecting Them

Abstract

This study aimed to determine the colorectal cancer fatalism and health literacy of university staff and factors affecting them. The data were collected between May-November 2021 with Participant Descriptive Form, Colorectal Cancer Fatalism Scale and Health Literacy Scale. The mean score of Colorectal Cancer Fatalism was 6.12 +/- 5.58 and the mean score of the Health Literacy was 89.50 +/- 27.54. Sex, marital status, education, general health, smoking, alcohol, hearing the early diagnosis, conducting research on health, knowing the risk factor, fear of getting cancer affected the colorectal cancer fatalism. Also age, marital status, education, academic title, income, general health, smoking, knowing the risk factor, doing research on health and fear of getting cancer affect the health literacy. A high level of negative correlation was found between the Colorectal Cancer Fatality and the Health Literacy. One-unit increase in fatalism decreased health literacy level by 3.4 times. It demonstrated that colorectal cancer fatalism is a problem for university staff and the importance of health literacy. It is important to identify these variables for removing the barriers for early detection and screening programs.