The Effect of Health Literacy on Men Seeking Medical Attention for Erectile Dysfunction

Objective In this study, we aimed to determine if there was any relationship between patients with erectile dysfunction (ED) who do not seek medical help at the hospitals and their health literacy (HL) levels. Materials and methods The study included 68 patients. Patients with a main complaint of ED were included in Group 1, and those with benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) or who requested an age-related check-up were included in Group 2. Questions 1-5 and 15 of the International Index of Erectile Function (IIEF)-15 scale evaluating erectile functions were collected as IIEF-6 for the purpose of this study. Severe ED was defined as having a score of 0-10, while moderate ED was defined as a score of 11-16. Both patients with severe and moderate ED were considered and included in the study. The European Health Literacy Scale (HLS-EU) and the Turkey Health Literacy Scale-32 (THLS-32) were used for the evaluation of HL. Results The HLS-EU person-specific mean index was found to be 37.22 ±5.29 in Group 1 and 30.46 ±6.32 in Group 2. The THLS-32 person-specific mean index was determined to be 37.68 ±5.41 in Group 1 and 30.94 ±6.13 in Group 2. In Group 1, 58.3% of patients were classified as having sufficient HL and 22.2% were classified as having excellent HL. In Group 2, 21.9% of patients were classified as having sufficient HL and 3.1% were classified as having excellent HL. Conclusions As societal income, education levels, and HL levels increase, ED will become more important to individuals, motivating them to seek timely medical attention, and thereby leading to earlier diagnoses of potential primary pathologies.