Disparities in public understanding, attitudes, and intentions during the Covid-19 pandemic: The role of health literacy

Abstract

The Covid-19 pandemic has highlighted the need to address health literacy as a critical priority for public health. Health literacy is crucial during a pandemic for understanding and following health advice and for navigating vast amounts of information and misinformation. However, public health communication globally has inadequately met the needs of low literacy and culturally and linguistically diverse groups. This review examines the role of health literacy and how it is related to Covid-19 related outcomes, as well as how public health communication has routinely failed to follow basic health literacy principles. Lessons from the pandemic about health communication and recommendations for how health literacy needs can be addressed in the future are discussed. Improving public health communication requires an immediate short-term response and longer-term investment to build the health literacy responsiveness of public health units, health organisations, and government departments to meet health literacy population needs.

Preface: Lessons learned during the COVID-19 pandemic about public receptivity, health literacy, and health communication: A tribute to Andrew Pleasant

“…The term 'infodemic' and its impact on public trust and understanding during the COVID-19 pandemic is mentioned in several of the special issue's contributions, and the concept is deconstructed in Table 1 of Smith and Carbone's paper [3][4][5][6]. As of this writing, an 'infodemic' search yields more than 700 manuscripts in PubMed compared to almost nil before 2020 [12].…”

“…Smith and Carbone explain that the infodemic is widely described as a negative byproduct of the socio-cultural response to COVID-19 in the U.S. and other nations [3]. The infodemic is suggested to have deleteriously impacted public health and clinical practice by undermining evidence-based efforts to contain COVID's spread via initiatives such as vaccination and medications, wearing masks, and social distancing [3,4,13]. In 2020-2022 conversations with the author, Dr.…”

“…McCaffery et al review the international evidence base regarding the impact of health literacy on public beliefs about health during the COVID-19 pandemic [4]. The authors note how health literacy was associated with COVID-19-related outcomes in several nations, including Australia and the U.S.…”

“…The authors note how health literacy was associated with COVID-19-related outcomes in several nations, including Australia and the U.S. The authors explain how public health communicators in several nations routinely failed to follow basic health literacy principles [4].…”

“…McCaffery et al suggest that health literacy is one of the few modifiable social determinants of health that directly influences clinical and public health outcomes [4]. The authors recommend short and longerterm investments to build the health literacy responsiveness of public health units, health organizations, and government departments to meet health literacy population needs and enhance public health during future pandemics [4].…”