Adolescent Health Literacy Research Articles

EFFECTIVENESS OF HEALTH PROMOTION USING INSTAGRAM SOCIAL MEDIA TO INCREASE ORAL HEALTH LITERACY IN BANJARBARU SOUTH KALIMANTAN

Background: Banjarbaru is the city with the lowest percentage in the South Kalimantan region regarding knowledge the ease of access to dental health services. This shows an illustration of the importance of health promotion so that people are more aware of the importance of maintaining dental and oral health. One strategy to achieve optimal health promotion is to use health promotion methods through social media. Instagram social media as a health promotion media has the advantage of being easy to access without being constrained by distance, time, and cost. Purpose: Analyzing the effectiveness of health promotion using Instagram social media to increase oral health literacy in adolescents at SMP Negeri 1 Banjarbaru. Methods: This studies uses a true experimental design method with a pretest-postest design with control design, the sampling technique is simple random sampling technique. The studies carried out at SMP Negeri 1 Banjarbaru with 92 respondents. Results: There is a difference in the oral health literacy pretest and posttest scores in interverence group, while in the control group there is no significant difference. The significance result of Mann Whitney test in the posttest session for the intervention and the control groups are 0.000 > 0.05 which means that there is a significant difference in oral health literacy scores between the posttest scores of the intervention group and the control group. Conclusion: Health promotion using Instagram social media is effective for improving oral health literacy. Keywords: Health promotion, oral health, oral health literacy, social media

Development and Validation of a Sexual Health Literacy Measurement Tool for Pregnancy Prevention Among Adolescents (SHL-PPA).

Several measurement tools have been developed for health literacy. However, little emphasis has been placed on the development of sexual health literacy (SHL) in adolescents. This paper describes the development and validation of an SHL measurement tool for pregnancy prevention among adolescents (SHL-PPA). This study explores research and development (R&D) and presents three stages of R&D, including a literature review, the Delphi approach, and a valid and reliable questionnaire. Three groups were used for the population and sampling: 18 experts, five competent people, and 654 adolescents. An online self-assessment tool was used. The data analysis methods used were median, interquartile range, content validity index, Cronbach's alpha coefficient, and exploratory factor analysis. The results show that the definition of SHL for adolescents was "cognitive, social, and cultural skills that determine the motivation and ability of an adolescent to access and sufficiently understand sexual health information and services, which results in them being capable of sexual health assessment and making decisions to prevent pregnancy". The final devised SHL-PPA included 33 items and the three following components: 1) accessibility to sexual health information and services, 2) an understanding of sexual health information and services and appraisal of sexual health to prevent pregnancy, and 3) applying the obtained sexual health information and skills to prevent pregnancy. This study proves that the SHL-PPA is appropriate for Generation Z teenagers, particularly for online self-assessment of SHL. An online self-evaluation using the SHL-PPA demonstrated that related organizations should develop online activities or programs to improve teenage girls' pregnancy-prevention behavior.

Reproductive Health Literacy of Adolescents at Public Islamic School: A Cross-Sectional Study in Indonesia

Inadequate adolescents’ reproductive health literacy is a serious problem that requires urgent attention from all stakeholders. Adolescents with limited knowledge of reproductive health are more prone to facing various health problems. Therefore, this study aims to determine the level of adolescents reproductive health literacy and its associated factors. An analytical approach was adopted with a cross-sectional design. The target population consisted of female students in classes XI and XII, at Public Islamic Senior High School 2 Banda Aceh, totaling 242 students. An accidental sampling method was utilized to select the sample, and the number of respondents was 150 students. The data obtained were analyzed using simple linear and multiple linear regression tests. The results showed that the level of reproductive health literacy was moderate (M=3.20; SD: 0.70 on a scale of 5), while the associated factors included family role (β=0.397; p-value:0.001), age (β=0.263; p-value:0.001), and peer support (β=0.259; p-value:0.001). These variables accounted for 43.4% of the variance in adolescents reproductive health literacy (R2:0.434). Based on the results, it was concluded that the level of adolescents reproductive health literacy was insufficient, and factors correlated to this problem included family role, age, and peer support.

Health literacy and musculoskeletal disorders in adolescents: a scoping review

ObjectivesHealth literacy (HL) related to musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) in adolescents is a field with limited previous evidence. This study aimed to review and synthesise studies on MSDs and HL as...

Transition for adolescents with a rare disease: results of a nationwide German project

PurposeThe transition process from paediatric/adolescent to adult medical care settings is of utmost importance for the future health of adolescents with chronic diseases and poses even more difficulties in the context of rare diseases (RDs). Paediatric care teams are challenged to deliver adolescent-appropriate information and structures. Here we present a structured transition pathway which is patient-focused and adoptable for different RDs.MethodsThe transition pathway for adolescents 16 years and older was developed and implemented as part of a multi-centre study in 10 university hospitals in Germany. Key elements of the pathway included: assessment of patients’ disease-related knowledge and needs, training/educational and counselling sessions, a structured epicrisis and a transfer appointment jointly with the paediatric and adult specialist. Specific care coordinators from the participating university hospitals were in charge of organization and coordination of the transition process.ResultsOf a total of 292 patients, 286 completed the pathway. Deficits in disease-specific knowledge were present in more than 90% of participants. A need for genetic or socio-legal counselling was indicated by > 60%. A mean of 2.1 training sessions per patient were provided over a period of almost 1 year, followed by the transfer to adult care in 267 cases. Twelve patients remained in paediatric care as no adult health care specialist could be identified. Targeted training and counselling resulted in improved disease-specific knowledge and contributed to empowering of patients.ConclusionThe described transition pathway succeeds to improve health literacy in adolescents with RDs and can be implemented by paediatric care teams in any RD specialty. Patient empowerment was mainly achieved by individualized training and counselling.

Validation of an adolescent ovulatory menstrual health literacy questionnaire.

This study aimed to face validate an adolescent ovulatory menstrual (OM) health literacy questionnaire and to measure reliability by test-retest. Draft questions from an earlier content validation were adjusted following face validity assessment with 28 adolescents. Test-retest reliability was assessed by 89 adolescents aged 14-18 years over a two-week period across four school sites. The mean levels of agreement recorded from the critical, interactive and functional health literacy domains were 83%, 74% and 68%, respectively. There were 44 out of 74 items with Kappa statistics >0.40. The questionnaire has confirmed face validity and adequate test-retest reliability for assessing adolescent OM health literacy.

Exploring the relationship between mental health literacy and psychological distress in adolescents: A moderated mediation model

Previous studies on the relationship between mental health literacy and psychological distress were rich, but little was known about the influence mechanism between them, and almost no research was found on the role of psychological resilience and subjective socio-economic status in the relationship between them. This study used a moderated mediation model to test the mediating effect of psychological resilience on the relationship between mental health literacy and psychological distress, and the moderating effect of subjective socioeconomic status in Chinese adolescents. We investigated 700 junior high school students in Inner Mongolia, China through online survey. The results are as follows: (1) Mental health literacy is a negative predictor of adolescents' psychological distress; (2) psychological resilience mediated the association between mental health literacy and psychological distress; (3) The first half of the model, that is, the relationship between mental health literacy and psychological resilience, is moderated by subjective socioeconomic status. Specifically, for adolescents with low subjective socioeconomic status, the positive predictive effect of mental health literacy on psychological resilience is obviously enhanced. The current findings would contribute to a deep understanding of the relationship among adolescents' mental health literacy, psychological resilience, subjective socioeconomic status and psychological distress, which may be of great significance to the prevention of adolescents' psychological distress.

Systematic Review of Health Literacy and Health Promotion in School-Aged Adolescents

Background: The literature has identified gaps in adolescent health literacy (AHL) measurements, as well as how the health literacy (HL) level is related to health promotion (HP) aspects. This study aimed to examine the tools used to measure HL and determine its relation with HP among adolescents. Methods: Three online databases (HINARI, PubMed, and DOAJ) were searched to conduct a systematic assessment of papers published between January 1, 2016, and January 1, 2021. In this review, 373 articles were identified from these databases. After removing duplicates and screening titles and abstracts of articles, 49 full texts were selected for full-text reading. After comprehensive reading, 23 papers were appraised for qualitative synthesis. Results: Of the 23 reviewed papers, 21 focused on assessing AHL measures, and 15 addressed the association between AHL and HP. Seven studies used the HL School-Aged Children instrument. The findings suggested that the methodological and conceptual underpinnings of HL measures are insufficient. Furthermore, HL acts as an independent and positive mediator for many facets of HP. Conclusion: This review offers a warning to practitioners and educationists interested in measuring HL as the number of measurement tools is quite huge with different tools applying different scales.

The relationship between health literacy and internet addiction among middle school students in Chongqing, China: A cross-sectional survey study.

Internet addiction has emerged as a major global concern as a potential adverse impact of internet exposure on adolescents. Internet addiction is associated with many demographic variables; however, there is a lack of consensus on its relationship with health literacy. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to assess the rates of internet addiction and health literacy level among middle school students (grades 7 to 12) in Chongqing, China, as well as to investigate the association between them. A cross-sectional, questionnaire-based study was conducted among 8971 students who were randomly selected by using stratified cluster sampling between November and December 2019. The Internet Addiction Diagnostic Questionnaire, Adolescent Health Literacy Scale and a self-designed basic information questionnaire were used to collect data. Chi-square tests were performed to compare the differences in the distribution of internet addiction across health literacy levels as well as some sociodemographic characteristics. Multivariate logistic regression analyses were conducted to identify the association between health literacy and internet addiction. The prevalence of internet addiction among middle school students in Chongqing was 6.1%. The percentage of the students who spent more than 4 hours online every day in the past week was 14.3%. In addition, 26.7%, 26.0%, 28.3% and 26.3% of the participants reported low functional, interactive, critical and total health literacy, respectively. After adjusting for the confounding effects of demographics, multivariate regression analysis showed that critical health literacy was a protective variable for internet addiction, while functional, and interactive health literacy were the risk variable (P<0.05). Furthermore, the internet addiction rates were higher among boys, students with good peer relationships, and students without parental supervision, whereas internet addiction rates were lowest among students in grade 12. The prevalence of internet addiction among middle school students in Chongqing is relatively high. Internet addiction is strongly negatively associated with critical health literacy, but it is positively associated with functional and interactive health literacy but not total health literacy. This study provides preliminary evidence for the predictive role of health literacy in internet addiction of adolescents.

Improving adolescent health literacy through school-based health literacy intervention: a mixed-method study protocol

BackgroundHealth-promoting actions might benefit from adolescent health literacy (AHL), however, there is scant research on it in Nepal. This study identifies adolescent students’ health literacy (HL) needs and trials an intervention to improve their HL and intention to take health-promoting actions.MethodsThis study employs a pre-and post-test mixed-method intervention involving three phases. First, we will conduct a formative and summative evaluation to identify participants’ HL needs and design an intervention using quantitative and qualitative methods. Second, the intervention will be administered to the intervention group. Finally, formative and summative post-tests will be conducted to assess the effectiveness of the intervention. We will select four community schools from Birendranagar municipality based on random sampling. In quantitative research, data will be collected from adolescents selected through a census with standardized scales such as the HLS-Child-Q15, self-efficacy, social support, and health-promoting actions. A framework analysis was conducted to analyze qualitative data collected from focus group discussions with purposively chosen adolescents and key informant interviews with Health and Physical Education teachers and school nurses. The difference in difference approach will be used to analyze the intervention’s outcome, i.e., the participants’ improved HL, and health-promoting actions.DiscussionThis is one of the first studies to explore HL in this group in Nepal. This study will provide the first insights into the overall level of AHL, potential AHL determinants, and the relationship between AHL and the intention to participate in health-promoting activities. The data can then be used to inform health promotion and health literacy initiatives.

Translation, Cross-Cultural Adaptation, and Psychometric Validation of the Positive Body Image among Adolescents Scale (PBIAS) into Spanish and Catalan

The Positive Body Image among Adolescents Scale (PBIAS) explores the factors that bolster and interfere with developing and maintaining a positive body image during adolescence. The aim of this study was to translate, adapt, and validate the PBIAS into Spanish and Catalan. A cross-sectional study was conducted for the instrument's translation, cross-cultural adaptation, and psychometric validation. A process of translation, back-translation, expert consultation, and piloting was followed. The reliability and statistical validity were evaluated. The Cronbach's alpha was 0.95 in both the Spanish and Catalan versions. Pearson's correlation coefficients were statistically significant (r > 0.087) for all items analyzed. The resulting values of the Spanish and Catalan versions indicate a good level of concordance (p < 0.001) with the original questionnaire, the comparative fit index being 0.914 and 0.913, the Tucker-Lewis index being 0.893 and 0.892, the root mean square error of approximation being 1.31 and 1.28, and the standardized root mean square residual being 0.051 and 0.060, respectively. The instrument presents a good level of internal consistency, a high level of reliability, and statistical validity compared to the original instrument. The PBIAS in Spanish and Catalan can be a useful assessment instrument for educators and health professionals in the context of adolescent mental health literacy. This work contributes to the Sustainable Development Goals (Goal 3) of the United Nations 2030 Agenda.

肥胖青少年健康素养研究进展

The incidence of obesity has risen rapidly in the world, and the occurrence and development of obesity is closely related to the “three high” problem of adolescents after adulthood, which has become one of the most serious public health problems. China's teenagers are not only facing the problem of obesity, but also lack understanding of health-related knowledge, and their health literacy needs to be improved. Based on the analysis of the epidemic trend of adolescent obesity, this paper focuses on the relevant factors affecting the health literacy of obese adolescents, and puts forward countermeasures from the four levels of the country, school, family and individual, in order to improve and enhance their health literacy level, and provide theoretical basis for achieving the overall goal of national health.

Association between health literacy, depressive symptoms, and suicide-related outcomes in adolescents: A longitudinal study

BackgroundHealth literacy is associated with mental disorders in adolescents. This study aimed to examine the associations between health literacy, depressive symptoms, and suicide-related outcomes. MethodsIn terms of participants, 937 middle school students in Shenyang City, China were enrolled between December 2018 and December 2019 to assess health literacy, depressive symptoms and suicide-related outcomes. Multiple logistic regression models were used to examine possible associations. ResultsAdequate health literacy was negatively associated with 12-month follow-up depressive symptoms (RR = 0.115, 95 % CI: 0.032–0.411) and suicide-related outcomes (RR = 0.230, 95 % CI: 0.085–0.618) in females. Meanwhile, in females, interpersonal relationship, stress management, and self-actualization were negatively related to depressive symptoms, while physical activities, self-actualization, and health awareness are protective factors for suicide-related outcomes (P < 0.05 for each). LimitationsRecall and reporting bias might be inevitable for self-reported data, and due to the small sample size, the predictive effect may not be very significant. ConclusionsThese findings suggest that adequate health literacy may serve as a critical and independent protective factor for poor long-term mental health outcomes and that the predictive effect is more pronounced in female students. Public health efforts to enhance health literacy levels are required to maintain and improve adolescents' mental health outcomes.

Assessing the Feasibility of a Peer Education Project to Improve Mental Health Literacy in Adolescents in the UK

Many mental health problems begin in adolescence and occur on a spectrum of severity: early recognition and intervention is important. This study is a quantitative feasibility study of the Mental Health Foundation’s Peer Education Project (PEP). Attrition, psychometric properties of questionnaires, indications of improvement on a range of outcomes, and sample size required for a powered trial of effectiveness were assessed. 203 students completed the survey both pre and post-intervention. It was found that existing previously-validated measures had good psychometric properties, with two new questionnaires demonstrating reasonable reliability (self-help confidence alpha = 0.78, mental health knowledge alpha = 0.59). There were indications of improvement in help-seeking intentions, the number of sources likely to seek help from, and mental health knowledge from pre- to post-intervention. A future trial of PEP with a sample of approximately 36 schools, researcher-led data collections, and help-seeking intentions or sources as a primary outcome appears to be feasible.

The relationship between alexithymia, health literacy, and diet quality in obese adolescents

Alexithymia and low health literacy are the barriers of self-management. This study aims to examine therelationship between alexithymia, health literacy and diet quality in obese adolescents, and their effects on anthropometric and biochemical markers. The 20-item Toronto alexithymia scale (TAS-20) was used to determine the alexithymic traits of the adolescents, and "The Newest Vital Sign" (NVS) scales were used to determine their health literacy levels. Diet quality was evaluated with the Healthy Eating Index-2010 (HEI-2010). 39.7% of the obese adolescents were alexithymic, and 69.4% of alexithymics and 35.1% of non-alexithymics had metabolic syndrome. Alexithymic adolescents were lackof adequate health literacy. There were positive correlations between alexithymia scores and insulin, triglyceride, systolic and diastolic blood pressure levels, andall anthropometric values except height (p<0.05). There wasa negative correlation between alexithymia scores andhealth literacy scores (p<0.05). There were negative correlations between health literacy and alexithymia scores, insulin, total cholesterol, triglyceride, ALT, systolic, diastolic blood pressure levels and all anthropometric values except height, and positive correlation was observed between health literacy scores and diet quality (p<0.05). Total HEI score was negatively correlated with waist circumference, neck circumference, body weight, BMI, triglyceride, AST, ALT, systolic and diastolic blood pressure, and positively correlated with health literacy and HDL levels (p<0.05). As alexithymia severity increased in obese adolescents, the degree of obesity and the incidence of metabolic syndrome increased while the level of health literacy decreased. The increase in health literacy levels, on the other hand, decreased the level of alexithymia and increased the quality of the diet.

Health Literacy in Children and Adolescents: A Review of the State of the Art

Health literacy has been defined as the ability of people to access quality health information and apply it, making appropriate decisions in the process of health and a correct use of health services. Despite the large body of literature produced since the first studies of this topic on the adult population, there is less scientific documentation regarding children and adolescents. The research team conducted a literature review of health literacy in children and adolescents; as well as the role of digital health literacy and other divides in the health status of this specific group of the population. The results of the literature review showed that health literacy is crucial to obtain a good physical, emotional and cognitive development. It is also related with the acquisition of healthy behaviors and lifestyles. The level of health literacy depends on many factors such as personal health status, the existence of health problems or diseases; as well as socio-economic status, cultural, social, and demographic determinants of health, among other variables. These aspects at the family level, friends, and school life, moreover, influence children and adolescents. In this group of the population, health status and healthy lifestyles are not only influenced by the level of individual (or parental) health literacy, but also by the social context in which the child or youth is immersed. In addition, these variables related to socio-economic and cultural factors are associated with the existence of gaps or divides in certain groups. In this scenario, an adequate conceptualization of health literacy during childhood and adolescence is necessary when designing appropriate interventions and policies for this group of the population. In order to achieve this, it is necessary to define what we mean by health literacy and how we are going to measure it. In summary, it is important not to focus only on an individual perspective; on the contrary, it is necessary to understand health literacy in the context where children and youth live and develop, as well as their interactions with the health, educational and social system. Further research is needed to explore more in depth the importance of health literacy in children and adolescence.

The Role of Health Literacy on Adolescent Smoking Behavior in Senior High School

Background: Smoking is a behaviour that's not foreign to the public, especially for teenagers. Smoking can hurt the health of all people, including adolescents. Health literacy is a cognitive and social skill for a person to improve their ability health.&#x0D; Objectives: To determine the relationship between health literacy and smoking behavior in adolescents.&#x0D; Methods: The research design used quantitative descriptive with a cross-sectional approach, the respondents were teenagers with a total 0f 83 respondents who were willing to fill out the questionnaire. Data analysis using frequency distribution and Chi-Square test.&#x0D; Results: The Result shows a most of the respondents were in the age category of 16 years (25,3%) and 16 years, The health literacy level of respondents was mostly in the able category is 83.1% and in the smoking behavior of respondents in the no category is 62.7%.Chi Square analysis result is p value is 0,000smaller then α there is health literacy relaed to smooking behavior in adolescents .&#x0D; Conclusion: Health literacy can be used as a strategy to reduce smoking behaviour in adolescents.

Important Systemic Factors for Improving Adolescent Mental Health Literacy.

Objective: Mental health literacy is especially important during adolescence and youth, because the peak of the onset of mental disorders occurs in this period. The present study aimed to identify the effective systemic factors for improving Iranian adolescent mental health literacy from the Perspective of policymakers and experts. Method : This qualitative study was performed on 21 policymakers and health literacy/mental health experts since May 2020 to September 2020 in the workplace of the interviewees in Tehran. Purposive sampling (snowball method) was conducted based on experience, expertise, and the willingness to participate in an interview. All interviews were conducted with the presence of the interviewer at the interviewees' workplace in Tehran. The data were collected through semi-structured interviews and analyzed via the conventional content analysis method. Results: Five themes were extracted as systemic factors for improving adolescent mental health literacy. Themes were "mental health literacy training", "integration and coordination of stakeholder organizations", "resources and facilities", "continuous assessment" and "provision of information." Conclusion: Before policy-making and planning to enhance adolescents' knowledge and awareness of mental health issues, it is necessary to attract policymakers' attention to the macro level and identify direct and indirect strategies for the correct implementation of policies adopted in this field.

5.K. Workshop: National and European studies on health literacy in children and adolescents

Abstract Health literacy describes how people use health information to make informed decisions in context of healthcare, disease prevention and health promotion. Enhancing health literacy of populations is critical and in particular important at an early age, which is understood to be more sustainable because health literacy contributes to improved personal health and development. Low health literacy in child and adolescent populations has been linked to worse health outcomes and health disparities in Europe, making health literacy of children and adolescents an important public health topic. Developing and delivering target group specific interventions and services requires precise data generation on the state of health literacy in early age. In the past decade, several conceptual approaches have been undertaken but methodological sound, validated and reliable measurement tools are still scarce. Available systematic reviews show that most tools originated from North America and/or English speaking countries. However, in the past years European researchers have been involved with research on health literacy in childhood and adolescence, the result of which culminated into heavy progress regarding the development of health literacy measurement instruments, including generic health literacy, digital health and mental health literacy. These new developments lead to the availability of validated tools for school-aged children, including primary and secondary school children. The purpose of this workshop is to bring together five contemporary health literacy studies conducted in child and adolescent populations across Europe, including national and European-wide studies. Both methodological findings regarding the measurement tool and empirical data will be introduced. The first presentation emerges from the HLCA HL-Kids project, which has been conducted in Germany and focusses on primary schoolchildren, using the HLS-Child-Q15 tool. The second presentation originates from the Netherlands where the HLS-Child-Q15 tool was adapted to Dutch children. The third presentation aims at health literacy of adolescents in secondary school-age in Germany, by using the MOHLAA-Q tool. The fourth presentation originates from the WHO-led HBSC study, which has been conducted by using the HLSAC questionnaire. The final presentation will focus on the first digital health literacy measurement tool for secondary schoolchildren, which has been developed within a German study in schools. Each project will be given ten minutes to present their findings, including questions, which will be followed by Q&amp;A and an open discussion with the audiences. This workshop offers a forum for researchers, practitioners and policy-makers interested in health literacy measurement in children and adolescents. By dialogue and two-way communication, vivid interaction will be ensured, allow building synergies, and facilitate networking and capacity building. Key messages • Health literacy contributes to improved personal health and development of children and adolescents. • The measurement of health literacy is key to public health intervention success and needs theory driven, validated and reliable instruments.

Digital health literacy and health behaviors of eighth and ninth graders from Germany

Abstract Background Due to the high availability and use of digital media, health-related information is increasingly shifting into the digital space. While there are increasing empirical findings on general health literacy (HL), there is a lack of evidence on digital HL in adolescence and its association with health behavior. Methods A cross-sectional study of 490 secondary school students (grades eight and nine) from the federal state of Hesse was conducted from October 2019 to February 2020. Digital HL was assessed using five subscales of the Digital Health Literacy Instrument (DHLI), while consumption of fruits, vegetables, soft drinks, and weekly physical activity were used as indicators of health behavior. In addition to gender and grade level, subjective social status (SSS) was used as a social characteristic. Univariate, bivariate, and multivariate analyses were performed, with binary-logistic regression adjusted for gender and SSS. Results Across all items, the percentage of adolescents reporting difficulties in acquiring and dealing with digital health information ranges from 15.3 % to 37.5 %. Stratified by social characteristics, gender and socioeconomic differences were found with girls and respondents reporting a lower SSS more often showing a limited digital HL. Adolescents with moderate and low digital HL report higher levels of low physical activity, non-daily fruit and daily soft drink consumption. Depending on the health behavior, different relationship patterns can be observed for the dimensions of digital HL. Conclusions The findings suggest a need for interventions to promote digital HL among adolescents, particularly for those of low SSS. In this context, the differential relationship patterns with health behaviors provide an avenue for the development of specific interventions.