How School Libraries Can Promote Health Literacy in Challenging Times

Abstract

Health literacy skills are needed to source, evaluate, and comprehend health information and services in order to make appropriate and informed health decisions. Given that an individual’s health outcomes are positively influenced by their level of health literacy, schools are increasingly committed to fostering health literacy in their students. Young people may face many health literacy challenges exacerbated by the global pandemic and the burgeoning array of questionable health information disseminated through social media. As information and digital literacy experts, school library professionals can draw upon their existing skillset and further extend their skills in order to play a key role in developing students’ health literacy, supporting their capacity to reject health misinformation and be discerning consumers of health information from a wide range of sources.