POST-PANDEMIC HEALTH LITERACY: COVID-19 KNOWLEDGE AMONG FUTURE TEACHERS IN THE CZECH REPUBLIC.

Objectives: The global situation concerning the incidence of infectious diseases emphasises the need for increased health literacy, particularly after the COVID-19 pandemic. A large part of this need relates to the area of education. The aim of this study was to analyse health literacy in relation to the cognitive dimension in the field of knowledge about the COVID-19 disease in the post-pandemic period among future teachers. Methods: The research sample comprised 286 female students in the first year of Bachelor's teacher training courses at the Faculty of Education in the Czech Republic. The research study was conducted during the academic year 2022/2023. To explore the level of health literacy, the present research used the standardized HLS-EU-Q86 questionnaire designed by the World Health Organization. For the purposes of this study, the original 'structured interview' method was changed to an online questionnaire. An additional online questionnaire was attached to explore participants' knowledge related to the COVID-19 disease. Results: The average score for general health literacy was 34.1, placing it within the 'sufficient' category. A total of 14.0% of the students showed an excellent level and 38.1% a sufficient level of general health literacy. Relatively the most favourable results were observed in the dimension of health promotion literacy. The threshold for successful completion of each knowledge test related to the COVID-19 was set at 80% of correct answers. Only 14.0% of the future teachers met the criteria for inclusion in the overall excellent level of the knowledge test. Conclusions: The level of knowledge of future teachers associated with COVID-19 is inadequate. Therefore, it is desirable to strengthen education in the field of prevention of infectious diseases. The results indicate the need for some action, e.g., expanding the portfolio of compulsory courses in all branches of teacher training in order to increase the level of health literacy among future teachers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]