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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Public Health
Sec. Public Health Education and Promotion
Volume 12 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2024.1522838

Health information orientation and health literacy as determinants of health promotion behaviors in adolescents: A cross-sectional study

Provisionally accepted
Mi-Ae You Mi-Ae You Jeong-Ah Ahn Jeong-Ah Ahn *
  • Ajou University, Suweon, Republic of Korea

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    This cross-sectional study aimed to identify the impact of health information orientation and health literacy on adolescents' health-promoting behaviors. We enrolled 149 middle school students from an urban city in South Korea through convenience sampling. The data was collected in October 2022 using a self-reported questionnaire. Health information orientation was measured using the Health Information Orientation Instrument (Cronbach's α = .86). Health literacy was assessed with the Korean Adolescent Health Literacy Scale (KR-20 = .66), and health promotion behaviors were evaluated using the Adolescent Health Promotion Scale-Short Form (Cronbach's α = .89). Analysis methods included independent t-tests, one-way ANOVA, and multiple regression. Results indicated significant differences in health promotion behaviors based on perceived health status, economic status, primary health-related information provider, and health literacy. Health information orientation showed a strong positive correlation with health promotion behaviors. The factors that influenced health promotion behaviors were health information orientation, primary information provider, economic status, and health literacy. Findings suggest that school and community health promotion programs should engage adolescents and parents to enhance health literacy and proactive information-seeking behaviors for improving the health outcomes of adolescents.

    Keywords: Adolescent, Health Promotion, Health Literacy, Information Seeking Behavior, Socioeconomic Disparities in Health

    Received: 05 Nov 2024; Accepted: 23 Dec 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 You and Ahn. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Jeong-Ah Ahn, Ajou University, Suweon, Republic of Korea

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