Exploring Health Literacy, Anxiety, and Perception Among Nursing and Allied Health Students in Turkey: A Cross-Sectional Study

Background: Health literacy, anxiety, and perception directly affect healthcare students' readiness for professional roles. Assessing these factors is crucial to enhance both their well-being and patient care quality. This study examined health literacy, health anxiety, and health perception among Health Sciences students and their links to socio-demographic factors. Methods: A cross-sectional and descriptive design was used in accordance with the STROBE guidelines. The sample, consisting of 258 students from Munzur University Faculty of Health Sciences, was selected using stratified and simple random sampling methods. Data were collected using a Descriptive Information Form, the Health Literacy Scale, the Health Anxiety Inventory, and the Health Perception Scale. Descriptive statistics, Mann−Whitney U, Kruskal−Wallis tests with Bonferroni correction, and Spearman's correlation analysis were conducted using SPSS 26 and JASP 0.19. Results: Students demonstrated inadequate health literacy (17.75 ± 11.37) and moderate health perception (43.43 ± 6.25); the mean health anxiety score was 18.78 ± 6.14. A weak but statistically significant positive correlation was found between health literacy and health anxiety (r = 0.225, p < 0.05) and between health perception and health anxiety (r = 0.215, p < 0.05); however, no significant correlation was observed between health literacy and health perception (r = 0.090, p > 0.05). Health perception revealed statistically significant differences according to maternal education level, place of residence, and frequency of reading health-related research. Health literacy significantly differed by academic department, year of study, perceived health status, and perceived usefulness of online health information. Health anxiety varied significantly by the presence of chronic illness, chronic illness status, perceived health status, medication use, and alcohol/tobacco consumption. Conclusion: The findings highlight the complex interplay between cognitive (health literacy), emotional (health anxiety), and perceptual (health perception) dimensions of student health. Promoting digital health literacy and providing counselling services may help reduce health anxiety and enhance self-awareness among health sciences students.