Relationships Among Cancer Screening Participation, E-Health Literacy, and Healthy Lifestyle Behaviors in a Group of Turkish Women: A Structural Equation Modeling Analysis

Abstract

One in five people worldwide is expected to develop cancer during their lifetime. This study aimed to examine the effect of women’s E-health literacy levels on their healthy lifestyle behaviors about their cancer screening status, within the scope of preventive cancer healthcare services in Türkiye. This cross-sectional analytical study involved 392 women, and a structural equation model (SEM) was used to identify the causal relationships between variables. Data were collected using the “E-health literacy scale” and the “healthy lifestyle behavior scale”. A structural equation model (SEM) was developed to examine the causal relationships among the variables, and the model’s fit indices and test values were analyzed and interpreted. Results showed that both E-health literacy and healthy lifestyle behavior scores were significantly higher among women who had undergone cancer screening. Additionally, women who had been screened for breast and cervical cancer demonstrated higher healthy lifestyle behavior scores. The SEM analysis indicated that E-health literacy had a positive effect on healthy lifestyle behaviors. Based on these findings, enhancing women’s E-health literacy may promote healthier lifestyle behaviors and encourage more consistent participation in preventive screenings such as cancer screenings.