Child and Youth Health Literacy: A Conceptual Analysis and Proposed Target-Group-Centred Definition

Abstract

(1) Background: This article adopts an interdisciplinary perspective to analyse, examine, and reflect upon prominent health literacy (HL) understandings in childhood and youth. (2) Method: The conceptual analysis combined Rodgers’ and Jabareen’s approaches to conceptual analysis in eight phases. (3) Results: First, we present exploratory entry points for developing a child-specific HL understanding based on the six dimensions of a ‘health-literacy 6D model’. Second, we describe and reflect upon five meta-level dimensions covering the HL definitions and models for children and youth found in the conceptual analysis. Third, we integrate our findings into a target-group-centred HL definition for children and youth. (4) Discussion/Conclusion: This article raises awareness for the heterogeneity of the current conceptual HL debate. It offers a multidisciplinary approach for advancing the existing understanding of HL. Four recommendations for future actions are deduced from the following four principles, which are inherent to the proposed target-group-centred HL definition: (a) to characterize HL from an asset-based perspective, (b) to consider HL as socially embedded and distributed, (c) to recognize that HL develops both in phases and in flexible ways, and (d) to consider the multimodal nature of health-related information. Further research is necessary to test the feasibility and applicability of the proposed definition and conceptual understanding in both research and practice.

A Comparative Study on Adolescents’ Health Literacy in Europe: Findings from the HBSC Study

“…Nevertheless, extensive research on the importance of self-rated health as an indicator of health, morbidity, and mortality underlines the importance of identifying and targeting all the factors that could explain self-rated health, including self-rated HL. As Broder and colleagues [32] have argued, "failing to provide young populations with health literacy and health-promoting capacities would constitute an increased risk for the individual and society in terms of poorer health outcomes and higher costs. "…”

Health Literacy: An Interactive Outcome Among Secondary Students in Beijing

“…Third, we did not include “mass media” as an environmental factor in our theoretical framework. Given that adolescents are growing up in an increasingly media-saturated and digitized world and are encountering a large proportion of health-related messages electronically ( Bröder et al, 2019 ; Levin-Zamir & Bertschi, 2018 ), there is a need for future research to explore how mass media influences adolescent health literacy, as well as how it interacts with other upstream factors (e.g., self-efficacy, social support, school environment) to influence adolescent health literacy. Fourth, self-report bias may exist because we only used a single item measurement scale for the outcome “health status.” Future research work using more robust outcome measures is warranted.…”

“…Adolescent health literacy is a continuum over time, following a developmental trajectory from infancy to adolescence, with more health knowledge and skills acquired as a person grows ( Abrams, et al 2009 ). Specifically, there are six unique characteristics (the 6 “D's”) of health literacy for this age group ( Bröder et al, 2019 ). The first “D” is “differential epidemiology and health perspectives,” which means that adolescents are experiencing a unique pattern of health, illness, and disability.…”

Adolescent Health Literacy in Beijing and Melbourne: A Cross-Cultural Comparison

“…Over the last decade, the field of adolescent health literacy has gained momentum globally [1][2][3][4]. As a personal asset, it highlights the empowerment of adolescents and their own rights of citizenship in society [5]. Low health literacy in adolescents is associated with a range of adverse health outcomes including health-compromising behaviours, poor health status and overweight/obesity [6][7][8].…”