Comparing Health Literacy among Students at a High School for the Hearing Impaired and at an Anatolian School
ANKARA UNIVERSITESI EGITIM BILIMLERI FAKULTESI OZEL EGITIM DERGISI-ANKARA UNIVERSITY FACULTY OF EDUCATIONAL SCIENCES JOURNAL OF SPECIAL EDUCATION, cilt.27, sa.2, ss.259-270, 2026 (ESCI)
- Yayın Türü: Makale / Tam Makale
- Cilt numarası: 27 Sayı: 2
- Basım Tarihi: 2026
- Doi Numarası: 10.21565/ozelegitimdergisi.1736757
- Dergi Adı: ANKARA UNIVERSITESI EGITIM BILIMLERI FAKULTESI OZEL EGITIM DERGISI-ANKARA UNIVERSITY FACULTY OF EDUCATIONAL SCIENCES JOURNAL OF SPECIAL EDUCATION
- Derginin Tarandığı İndeksler: Emerging Sources Citation Index (ESCI), Agricultural & Environmental Science Database, EBSCO Education Source, Directory of Open Access Journals, Social Science Premium Collection (ProQuest), Education Collection (ProQuest), Education Source Ultimate (EBSCO)
- Sayfa Sayıları: ss.259-270
- Gazi Üniversitesi Adresli: Evet
Özet
Introduction: Students with disabilities are at risk of having limited health literacy (HL). This study aimed to compare the HL levels of students at a high school for the hearing impaired with those of students attending an anatolian high school. Method: The observation-based response technique was used to administer the surveys. The Turkey Health Literacy Scale-32 (TSOY-32) was used. Participants marked the relevant options on the written questionnaire form that was given to them. 40 students (75.5%) from a hearing impaired high school and 456 students (70.8%) from an Anatolian high school participated. Findings: In terms of socioeconomic factors such as the parents' education level and father's employment status, students at the high school for the hearing impaired were significantly more disadvantaged (p < .05). Among these students, 92.5% and 7.5% had inadequate and problematic HL, respectively, whereas among the students in the anatolian high school, 22.4% and 38.2% had inadequate and problematic HL, respectively (p < .001). No statistically significant differences were found in TSOY-32 index scores based on gender, perceived health status, or physical activity among students at the high school for the hearing impaired (p > .05); however, significant differences were observed for the students at the anatolian high school (p < .05). No significant differences were found in the TSOY-32 index scores based on cause of hearing loss, severity of hearing impairment, the use of hearing aids (p > .05). Discussion: Students with hearing impairments face significant disadvantages in terms of HL compared with their peers without hearing impairments. The relationship between HL and health outcomes such as perceived health status and physical activity may differ for students with and without hearing impairments. The curricula of schools for the hearing impaired should place increased emphasis on health-related courses to address this imbalance.