Critical Health Literacy and Critical Information Literacy: Bridging Research Discourses from Different Domains

Abstract

AbstractThe purpose of this paper was to carve out “critical dimensions” in the concepts of health literacy and information literacy and contribute to the conceptualization of critical health information literacy, by analyzing and bridging standpoints of two research domains - health literacy and information literacy. The current context of a public health crisis accompanied by information overload additionally underlines the need to enhance our understanding of the critical health information literacy construct. Participatory information environments have made a fundamental change in the conceptual understanding of critical health information literacy and shifted the approach from one-dimensional, functional, individual skills to multidimensional, collective and distributed approach that takes into account the social, cultural, economic and political context. KeywordsCritical health literacyCritical information literacyHealth information literacyHealth information appraisalOnline health information