Global Perspectives of Children’s Health Literacy

Due to the growing global burden of noncommunicable diseases, health literacy development is an area of increasing importance and urgency. Health systems are struggling to provide adequate care due to over demand and inappropriate use. Health literacy is the ability to find, use, evaluate, remember, and apply information to look after our health. An individual’s health literacy is a complex construct influenced by their social determinants, community supports (distributed health literacy), and the services they access (health literacy responsive organizations). As a social determinant of health in its own right, health literacy can determine an individual’s health outcomes, educational attainment, social equity, and productivity. Developing the personal asset of health literacy earlier in the life course can influence adult health behaviors and has the potential to redress inequities that exist more broadly in our health systems and communities. This book examines global perspectives of children’s health literacy development specifically to explore the intersections between health, education, and community settings. Health literacy development is an intersectoral issue. Further, health literacy is influenced by culture and context; thus, each region or country supports the health literacy development needs of children and their communities differently. The international health literacy experts from 18 countries that have contributed to this book provide a collection of important insights and recommendations that are urgently required to inform practice, policy, and research.