Aims:

The aim of this study is to determine the effects of Health Promotion courses on development of healthy lifestyle behaviors and e-Health literacy in nursing students.

Methods:

Between December 2015 and April 2016, this quasi-experimental study was conducted with 133 students taking a Health Promotion course in the nursing department of a university. The data were collected by pre-test and post-test questionnaires. 12 weeks after baseline assessment, change in the healthy lifestyle behaviors and e-Health literacy was determined.

Results:

Mean participant age was 19.05±0.28 years (min=18, max=20), and 92.5% of the students were female. After the course, students achieved higher scores in the e-Health Literacy Scale (before= 27.09±4.48; after= 30.16±4.28), Health-Promoting Lifestyle Profile overall score (before= 137.75±17.09; after= 145.07±20.70) and all of its subscales; this increase was statistically significant in all subscales except Self-Actualization (before= 41.34±5.18; after= 41.37±5.99), Interpersonal Support (before= 22.01±3.30; after= 22.44±3.23) and Stress Management (before= 20.81±2.83; after= 20.92±3.48) subscales (p<0.05). A weak (r=0.294) and statistically significant (p=0.001) positive correlation was found between the final eHealth Literacy scores and Health Promoting Lifestyle Profile scores of the students.

Conclusions:

In conclusion, the Health Promotion course has contributed positively to development of healthy lifestyle behaviours in nursing students. The course also imparted increase of e-Health literacy.

Keywords: Health literacy, healthy lifestyle, health promotion, student nurses