Need of the hour, “health literacy”: the drug of choice for the current pandemic

Abstract

COVID-19 was officially declared a pandemic by World health organization on 11 March 2020. The most effective ways to protect yourself and others against COVID-19 are non-pharmacological methods. Therefore, prevention and supportive care are highly recommended so health literacy going to play an important role in preventing the diseases. It implies to the achievement of a level of knowledge, personal skills and confidence to take action to improve personal and community health by changing personal lifestyles and living conditions. Health literacy is still new and there is a paucity of published literature, there are few studies have demonstrated its effectiveness, many countries with good literacy have got good success in controlling this pandemic, for example Kerala in India. This demonstrated that education can support the weak and overburden health systems in successfully mitigating the effect of this global pandemic where the treatments and vaccines for it are in the development phase.

COVID-19 and Health Information Seeking Behavior: Digital Health Literacy Survey amongst University Students in Pakistan

“…Health literacy entails knowledge, competence and skills of an individual to attain, process, communicate and comprehend health information and services to promote and improve personal and community health through effective health decisions [ 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 ]. Digital Health Literacy (DHL), also phrased as eHealth literacy, is an extension of health literacy within the context of technology or electronic sources of information to understand and address any health problem [ 15 , 16 ].…”

“…Health literacy is a broader concept, comprising three domains: functional literacy, interactive literacy, and critical literacy [ 21 ]. Functional literacy indicates the task-based knowledge and skills to acquire and act on health information regarding defined risks, recommended use of health services and adherence [ 13 , 21 ]. Interactive literacy describes more advanced cognitive and social skills and competence to extract, comprehend and differentiate between varied sources of health information, through higher level of interaction with experts/professionals [ 13 , 21 ].…”

“…Functional literacy indicates the task-based knowledge and skills to acquire and act on health information regarding defined risks, recommended use of health services and adherence [ 13 , 21 ]. Interactive literacy describes more advanced cognitive and social skills and competence to extract, comprehend and differentiate between varied sources of health information, through higher level of interaction with experts/professionals [ 13 , 21 ]. Critical health literacy represents the most advanced cognitive and social skills, and competence to critically analyze health information from varied sources and apply this information to exert effective control in both personal and community health [ 13 , 21 ].…”

“…Interactive literacy describes more advanced cognitive and social skills and competence to extract, comprehend and differentiate between varied sources of health information, through higher level of interaction with experts/professionals [ 13 , 21 ]. Critical health literacy represents the most advanced cognitive and social skills, and competence to critically analyze health information from varied sources and apply this information to exert effective control in both personal and community health [ 13 , 21 ]. Broadly, this classification differentiates the varied literacy skills, which progressively extend from individual health to societal health, enabling autonomy, ensuring active engagement in wider actions and improving health outcomes.…”

COVID-19 and Health Information Seeking Behavior: Digital Health Literacy Survey Amongst University Students in Pakistan

“…Due to massive misinformation, the infodemic pertaining to COVID-19 highlighted the absence of health literacy proficiency. In turn, it increases stress, anxiety and risks of other morbidities, particularly among young people [12,21,22].…”