Health Literacy Programs in the School Curriculum

Health literacy programs in schools are crucial in providing children and adolescents with the knowledge, skills, and confidence to access, understand, and use health information effectively. It helps them to develop the ability to make informed decisions about their health, prevent health problems, and navigate the healthcare system.

Research shows that health literacy programs in schools can lead to improved health outcomes and better academic performance. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), schools are a critical setting for health promotion and disease prevention programs, as they provide an opportunity to reach a large population of young people and their families.

Several health literacy programs have been introduced in schools worldwide to promote health literacy among children and adolescents. Here are a few examples:

1. Health Matters Program: This program was developed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in the United States to promote health literacy among students with disabilities. It aims to increase students' knowledge and skills related to health and wellness, improve their ability to communicate effectively with healthcare providers, and enhance their decision-making skills.
2. Health Education Program: In South Korea, health education is a mandatory subject in schools, starting from primary school to high school. The curriculum includes topics such as hygiene, nutrition, mental health, and sexual health. Students are also taught how to identify and prevent common health problems and how to access healthcare services.
3. Be You: Be You is an Australian mental health and wellbeing initiative for primary schools and early learning services. It aims to support the mental health and wellbeing of children by providing resources, training, and support to school staff and families.
4. Health Promoting Schools: The Health Promoting Schools (HPS) framework is a global initiative supported by the WHO. The program aims to create a healthy school environment by promoting healthy behaviors, providing health education, and addressing health-related barriers to learning. The HPS approach involves students, teachers, parents, and the community in developing and implementing health-promoting strategies.

In conclusion, health literacy programs in schools play a vital role in equipping children and adolescents with the necessary knowledge, skills, and attitudes to make informed decisions about their health. These programs not only improve health outcomes but also promote health equity in society.

References

1. World Health Organization (2021). Health literacy. //www.who.int/health-topics/health-literacy#tab=tab_1
2. Okan, O., Bauer, U., Levin-Zamir, D., Pinheiro, P., Sørensen, K., & Messer, M. (2014). International Handbook of Health Literacy: Research, Practice and Policy Across the Lifespan. Springer International Publishing.
3. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2021). HealthMatters Program. //www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/disabilityandhealth/healthmatters-program/index.html
4. Ministry of Education (2021). Health education. //english.moe.go.kr/sub/info.do?m=0202&s=english
5. Be You (2021). About Be You. //beyou.edu.au/about-be-you
6. World Health Organization (2017). Health Promoting Schools. //www.who.int/maternal_child_adolescent/topics/health-promoting-schools/en/

Health literacy is the ability to access, understand and use information to promote and maintain personal and community health by changing personal lifestyles and living conditions. To support the younger generations to adopt these roles and achieve their full health and human potential, all children and adolescents need:

• knowledge and understanding about health issues
• a broad range of health-related skills and competencies
• the ability to make critical judgments about health and appraise the reliability of health messages across different communication channels
• to become aware of their own needs, perceptions, wishes and preferences in relation to physical, social and mental health and well-being

Health and education are linked inextricably; delivering health literacy through schools has many co-benefits for society, such as economic and social growth, health behaviour and outcome-related improvements, and academic and education-related benefits across the life-course.

Strengthening dialogue between the education and health sectors reinforces the common aims of education and health literacy. Attaching health literacy to the school culture, curriculum, classroom teaching, and learning objectives and outcomes requires acknowledgement of core educational tasks, practices and goals, the use of concepts, programmes, methods and mechanisms already in place, and close collaboration with schools, principals, teachers, educationalists and education staff.

Reference:

//apps.who.int/iris/rest/bitstreams/1368328/retrieve

Health literacy programs use a multi-faceted approach that combines a whole-school focus with curriculum created especially to help children's development of health literacy. It fosters the development of a comprehensive health literacy action plan by the teaching staff and school administration. Additionally, whole-school and individual classroom responses to the health literacy requirements of children and their local community are informed by school-wide action plans and policy produced by the school administration, teachers, parents, and students. Adoption of action plans at the school level could be used to address the needs specified in each national health literacy action plan.

More research and attention should be given to how the interactions between teachers, students, the learning environment, and the learning tasks improve health literacy.

Reference:

Nash R, Patterson K, Flittner A, Elmer S, Osborne R. School-Based Health Literacy Programs for Children (2-16 Years): An International Review. J Sch Health. 2021 Aug;91(8):632-649. doi: 10.1111/josh.13054. Epub 2021 Jun 6. PMID: 34096058.

People with higher literacy and health literacy skills tend to experience better health outcomes.
Awareness to kids through poster presentation ,vedio and digital medium have major impact (for examaple:- hand wash practicing advertisement, clothes cleaning advertisement etc)
School Health Promotion Activities
The health promotion activities will be given a special focus. Age appropriate health education for the students will be taken up to influence behavior and enhance skills. The framework developed pays special attention to physical, psycho-social and mental aspects based on the developmental stages of the child.
The broad components are:
Age Appropriate Health Promotion
1)Primary School
• Health, growth and development
• Personal safety
• Nutrition and physical activity
• Hygiene practices
• Prevention of Diseases like
Malaria, Dengue, TB, worms
infestation, diarrohea and
vaccine preventable diseases
2)Middle School
• Puberty and related changes
• Eye care, oral hygiene
• Nutrition
• Bullying prevention
• Meditation and Yoga
• Internet safety and media literacy
• Prevention of substance abuse
3)High School
• HIV/AIDS
• Mental Health
• Prevention of substance abuse
• Sexual & Reproductive Health
• Violence Prevention
• Unintentional Injury
• Road safety
• Nutrition
• Meditation

Reference:- //nhm.gov.in/New_Updates_2018/NHM_Components/RMNCHA/AH/guidelines/Operational_guidelines_on_School_Health_Programme_under_Ayushman_Bharat.pdf

Health Information Literacy Outreach: A Curriculum for Improving Health Information Literacy of 6th Grade Children (Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences 2013)
This curriculum is designed to improve the health information literacy skills of 6th-grade students and increase their knowledge of lead poisoning. A secondary goal is to encourage 6th-grade students to make attending college one of their aspirations.

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Addressing children's and adoloscents health literacy is fundamental for sustainable development, social growth and health development over the life course. Health literacy will enable children and adoloscents to access and navigate health environments, understand health messages, critical thinking about health and make informed decisions about health, acquire health knowledge and use it in new situations, communicate about health topics and concerns, develop health behaviours and attitudes and avoid unnecessary health risks.

health literacy is not only about individual competencies and behaviour, but includes a holistic approach which incorporates the environment, thereby helping childrens and adoloscents to achieve health and social goals. Schools are formal educational organisations and offer structures that can enable or disable successful education and health promotion process.

School based interventions show promise for improving health literacy, improving children's health outcomes and may reduce health disparities

Reference: //www.schoolsforhealth.org

//www.ruralhealthinfo.org

According to WHO defines health literacy “as the cognitive and social skills which determine the motivation and ability of individuals to gain access to, understand and use information in ways which promote and maintain good health.”Health literacy will enable children and adolescents to:
 access and navigate health information environments,
 understand health messages,
 think critically about health claims and make informed decisions about health,
 acquire health knowledge and use it in new situations,
 communicate about health topics and concerns,
 use health information to promote their own health, that of others, and environmental health,
 develop healthy behaviours and attitudes,
 engage in healthy activities and avoid unnecessary health risks,
 become aware of their own thinking and behaving,
 identify and assess bodily signals (e.g. feelings, symptoms),
 act ethically and socially responsible,
 be a self-directed and life-long learner, develop a sense of citizenship and be capable of pursuing equity goals,
address social, commercial, cultural, and political determinants of health.

References

//www.schoolsforhealth.org/sites/default/files/editor/fact-sheets/factsheet-2020-english.pdf
Nutbeam D. Health Promotion Glossary. Health Promot Int 1998; 13: 349–64. //doi.org/10.1093/heapro/13.4.349.

Integration of health literacy curriculum is challenging for schools as both teachers and students face numerous academic and non -academic requirements and they perceive the integration of health literacy curriculum as an add on. If the health literacy can be integrated with existing curricular requirement, it can succeed.  Media literacy, digital literacy and information literacy can best integrate health literacy curriculum. In Germany, educational efforts are inclusive and integrative and hence make health literacy more holistic with its easy integration into the curriculum. The German strategic framework for digital education and the associated media literacy framework are the entry points for integrating health literacy curriculum. With the use of such frameworks, teachers don’t have to make extra efforts. The below mentioned paper talks about the curriculum of media literacy which can intersect with health literacy and how can effectively can address the health literacy in the school curriculum

Addressing Health Literacy in Schools in Germany: Concept Analysis of the Mandatory Digital and Media Literacy School Curriculum frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2021.687389/full

The World Health Organisation (WHO) defines health literacy (HL) as the cognitive and social skills which determine the motivation and ability of an individual to gain access to, understand and use information in ways which promote and maintain good health . The concept of HL has evolved from what was initially a focus on an individual’s ability to read and understand health information, to focusing on factors that affect an individual’s knowledge, motivation and competencies in relation to health . HL has been identified as a personal resource that empowers an individual to make informed health decisions in everyday life and has been acknowledged as a key determinant of health . Numerous studies have reported a positive association between high levels of HL, better lifestyle behaviours and better health outcomes in children and adolescents . This is highlighted in the Health Behaviour in School-Aged Children survey, which reported HL as one of the major contributing factors leading to health differences . Research indicates that HL is determined by level of education and socioeconomic indicators, with more affluent individuals reporting higher levels of HL . Enhancing HL levels in low socioeconomic populations may, therefore, offer a means to reach greater health equity. The WHO has recognised the potential role of improved HL in preventing and reducing NCDs by empowering citizens to manage their own health . Consequently, the WHO has engaged in numerous actions to promote health through an improvement in HL , and has identified the educational sector as the most important setting for teaching and learning HL in early life

Reference:-

//www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7996245/