cervical cancer early diagnosis behavior: the important role of electronic health literacy

Background and objective: cervical cancer screening behavior is more prevalent among individuals with a strong grasp of electronic health literacy. this study aimed to determine the relationship between electronic health literacy and attitudes toward early diagnosis of cervical cancer in women.materials and methods: this descriptive and correlational study was conducted with 300 participants between 25 february and 05 may 2024. the study included participants who applied to a hospital in siirt province of turkey through purposive sampling. data were collected using a descriptive information form, the e-health literacy scale and the cervical cancer early detection attitude scale. descriptive statistics, compare tests, pearson correlation analysis, and linear regression were conducted for the analysis.results: the mean age of the participants was 28.91±4.98 years, and 42.3% had a high school education or higher. the mean total score of the cervical cancer early detection attitude scale was 100.36±9.38, and the mean total score of the e-health literacy scale was 38.26±10.05, which is at a moderate level. a positive and moderately significant correlation exists between the e-health literacy scale and the cervical cancer early detection attitude scale (r=0.313, p<0.05). the attitudes towards early diagnosis of cervical cancer were higher in those who had pap smear test, whose family/friends were diagnosed with cervical cancer, and those who received education on cervical cancer and wanted education. these variables were significant predictors explaining 17.8% of the total variance of attitude towards early diagnosis of cervical cancer. conclusion: electronic health literacy and cervical cancer-related characteristics positively influence attitudes toward early diagnosis of cervical cancer. this study highlights the importance of considering women’s ehealth literacy in interventions to improve cervical cancer early detection behaviours.