Smith, Craig ORCID: 0000-0003-1768-6726, Goss, Hannah ORCID: 0000-0002-4264-6673, Issartel, Johann ORCID: 0000-0003-1016-1409 and Belton, Sarahjane ORCID: 0000-0001-9672-6276 (2021) Health literacy in schools? A systematic review of health-related interventions aimed at disadvantaged adolescents. Children, 8 (3). ISSN 2227-9067
Abstract
Socioeconomically disadvantaged populations are at greater risk of adopting unhealthy
behaviours and developing chronic diseases. Adolescence has been identified as a crucial life stage
to develop lifelong healthy behaviours, with schools often suggested as the ideal environment to
foster healthy habits. Health literacy (HL) provides a possible solution to promote such healthy
behaviours. The aim of this study was to review school-based HL-related interventions targeting
socioeconomically disadvantaged adolescents and to identify effective intervention strategies for
this population. Searches were performed in six databases. Inclusion criteria included age: 12–
16; the implementation of a school-based intervention related to HL aimed at socioeconomically
disadvantaged populations; an intervention focused on: physical activity (PA), diet, mental health,
substance abuse or sleep. Forty-one articles were included, with the majority focusing on PA and
diet (n = 13), PA (n = 9) or mental health (n = 7). Few interventions focused solely on substance abuse
(n = 2) or sleep (n = 1), and none targeted or assessed HL as an outcome measure. There was huge
heterogeneity in study design, outcomes measures and effectiveness reported. Effective intervention
strategies were identified that can be used to guide future interventions, including practical learning
activities, peer support and approaches targeting the school environment, the parents or that link the
intervention to the community.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article (Published) |
---|---|
Refereed: | Yes |
Uncontrolled Keywords: | health literacy; adolescent; intervention; socioeconomically disadvantaged; school based |
Subjects: | Medical Sciences > Health Social Sciences > Education |
DCU Faculties and Centres: | DCU Faculties and Schools > Faculty of Science and Health > School of Health and Human Performance |
Publisher: | MDPI |
Official URL: | https://doi.org/10.3390/children8030176 |
Copyright Information: | © 2021 The Authors (CC-BY 4.0) |
Funders: | e Irish Heart Foundation and the Irish Research Council under the Irish Research Council’s Enterprise Partnership Scheme, Project ID: EPSPG/2020/489 |
ID Code: | 27847 |
Deposited On: | 11 Oct 2022 12:00 by Thomas Murtagh . Last Modified 24 Jan 2023 12:41 |
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