The role of health literacy in the prevention of chronic diseases among university students in the Czech Republic

The aim of this diploma thesis is to understand the role of health literacy in chronic disease prevention among university students aged 20-26. The research was conducted qualitatively through in-depth interviews with 16 university students specializing in social sciences and medicine. Data were evaluated using thematic analysis. For a more comprehensive interpretation of the data, three theoretical frameworks were used: Bounded Rationality, Temporal Discounting, and Health Belief Model. The results showed that the role of health literacy in chronic disease prevention is important, but not decisive. Health literacy serves as a prerequisite rather than a guarantee of healthy behaviour. This conclusion is illustrated by the example of medical students who, despite their higher health literacy and broad insight into the issue of chronic disease, engage in more health-risk behaviours than social science students. The key role is played by the environmental factor, particularly high academic workload, which limits the application of health-relevant information to students' everyday lives. The findings suggest that increasing health literacy alone through education is not sufficient for effective chronic disease prevention among university students. In addition to education, it is also necessary to focus...