Abstract

Introduction: Health information literacy is the ability of an individual to acquire, interpret and understand the basic information and health services needed to make health decisions appropriate. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of health information literacy of nurses on their communication skills in hospitals affiliated with Kerman University of Medical Sciences. Method: The data of this analytical survey collected using a researcher-made questionnaire on health information literacy and communication skills in nurses. The reliability of the questionnaires was more than 0.9 in the test-test alpha, and its validity was confirmed by the relevant professors in the field of medical librarianship and information science. The population was 202 nurses working in hospitals affiliated with Kerman University of Medical Sciences in 2016. Data were analyzed by descriptive and analytical orders of SPSS-22 software. Findings: The results indicated that the nurses' health information literacy acquired higher scores in two areas of ability to recognize information needs, and understanding and evaluation of information (p<0.01). The best communication skills in the nurses was communication skills (p<0.01). The regression analysis indicated that 43.6% of changes in nurses' communication skills are influenced by health information literacy variables. Conclusion: Considering the effect of information literacy of nurses on their communication skills with patients, so it is recommended to pay more attention to the improvements in the nurses’ health information literacy.