scholarly journals Making health information meaningful: Children's health literacy practices

2016 ◽  
Vol 2 ◽  
pp. 476-484 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hannah Fairbrother ◽  
Penny Curtis ◽  
Elizabeth Goyder
Keyword(s):  
Health Literacy ◽  
Health Information ◽  
Literacy Practices ◽  
Children's Health ◽  
Children’S Health

scholarly journals What Do Childcare Providers Know about Environmental Influences on Children’s Health? Implications for Environmental Health Literacy Efforts

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (10) ◽  
pp. 5489
Author(s):  
Brenda D. Koester ◽  
Stephanie Sloane ◽  
Elinor M. Fujimoto ◽  
Barbara H. Fiese ◽  
Leona Yi-Fan Su
Keyword(s):  
Health Literacy ◽  
Environmental Health ◽  
Environmental Influences ◽  
Significant Risk ◽  
The United States ◽  
Children's Health ◽  
Children’S Health ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Environmental Health Literacy ◽  
Childcare Providers

Children are uniquely vulnerable to toxicant exposures in their environment, which can have long-lasting impacts on their health. Childcare providers are an important population to target for environmental health literacy, as most children in the United States under five years of age spend a significant number of waking hours in non-parental care. There is an increasing body of evidence that children are exposed to toxicants in the childcare environment, and yet little is known about what childcare providers know about environmental influences on the health of children in their care. We conducted semi-structured interviews with 36 home- and center-based Illinois childcare providers to better understand their knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors as they relate to environmental influences on children’s health. We found that the majority of providers had a low level of understanding of potential sources of exposure in the childcare environment, and they did not feel that environmental exposures posed a significant risk to children. Future efforts to increase environmental health literacy should focus on raising awareness and knowledge of environmental health issues for childcare providers before addressing ways that providers can reduce or prevent toxicant exposures to children in their care.

Home and school responsibilities for children’s health literacy development: the views of Finnish and Russian parents and teachers

2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 70-90 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marjorita Sormunen ◽  
Svetlana Goranskaya ◽  
Valentina Kirilina ◽  
Kirsi Bykachev ◽  
Kerttu Tossavainen
Keyword(s):  
Health Literacy ◽  
Literacy Development ◽  
Children's Health ◽  
Children’S Health ◽  
Home And School

Defining Taiwanese children’s health literacy abilities from a health promotion perspective

2016 ◽  
Vol 24 (4) ◽  
pp. 69-80 ◽  
Author(s):  
Li-Ling Liao ◽  
Chieh-Hsing Liu ◽  
Chi-Chia Cheng ◽  
Tzu-Chau Chang
Keyword(s):  
Health Promotion ◽  
Health Literacy ◽  
Health Education ◽  
Life Experiences ◽  
Real Life ◽  
Operational Definition ◽  
Children's Health ◽  
Functional Health ◽  
Children’S Health ◽  
Measurement Tool

Background: Health literacy is related to health inequality, health behaviors, and health status. Globally, health literacy has primarily focused on adults and has been based on the medical model. It is necessary to understand children’s life experiences as they relate to health; thus, this study attempted to evaluate and describe the health literacy abilities of sixth-graders in Taiwan. Methods: Interviews were conducted with 10 teachers and 11 caregivers, and focus groups were conducted with 32 children. Health literacy abilities corresponding to real-life situations were identified from life skills and the Taiwanese Curriculum Guidelines for health education. Three expert meetings were held to redefine children’s health literacy using a health promotion perspective and confirmed indicators. Results: An operational definition of three aspects of children’s health literacy and 25 abilities was proposed: 11 functional health literacy abilities (e.g. understands the connection between personal health care behaviors and health); seven interactive health literacy abilities (e.g. obtains and understands information from various channels); and seven critical health literacy abilities (e.g. analyzes the relationship between personal needs and diet choices for a balanced diet). These indicators cover 10 health education categories. Conclusions: These findings highlight the importance of understanding Taiwanese children’s health literacy, and the urgency of developing an appropriate measurement tool. The definition and indicators in this study were identified using a child-centered approach focusing on children’s real-life experiences. The result serves as a solid basis for the development of the Taiwan Children’s Health Literacy Scale, and provides information for the decision-making sector on health education.

scholarly journals Selecting Fiction Books for a Children's Health Collection by M. Tan & S. Campbell

2014 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Tan ◽  
Sandy Campbell
Keyword(s):  
Health Literacy ◽  
Selection Criteria ◽  
English Language ◽  
Children's Health ◽  
Health Conditions ◽  
Children’S Health ◽  
Special Issue ◽  
Literary Works ◽  
Health Related ◽  
Selection Of

Books have long been recognized  resources for health literacy and healing (Fosson & Husband, 1984). Individuals with health conditions or disabilities or who are dealing with illness, disability or death among friends or loved ones, can find solace and affirmation in fictional works that depict characters coping with similar health conditions. This study asked the question “If we were to select a new collection of children’s health-related fiction in mid-2014, which books would we select and what selection criteria would we apply?”  The results of this study are a set of criteria for the selection of  current English language literary works with health-related content for the pre-kindergarten to Grade 6 (age 12) audience http://hdl.handle.net/10402/era.38842, a collection of books that are readily available to Canadian libraries - selected against these criteria http://hdl.handle.net/10402/era.38843, a special issue of the Deakin Review of Children’s Literature -  dedicated to juvenile health fiction, and book exhibits in two libraries to accompany the Deakin Review issue.

scholarly journals Development of an Instrument to Assess Parents’ Excessive Web-Based Searches for Information Pertaining to Their Children’s Health: The “Children’s Health Internet Research, Parental Inventory” (CHIRPI)

10.2196/16148 ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 22 (4) ◽  
pp. e16148
Author(s):  
Antonia Barke ◽  
Bettina K Doering
Keyword(s):  
Health Information ◽  
Health Anxiety ◽  
Chronically Ill ◽  
Children's Health ◽  
Internet Research ◽  
Children’S Health ◽  
Web Based ◽  
Related Information ◽  
Health Related ◽  
Main Effects

Background People often search the internet to obtain health-related information not only for themselves but also for family members and, in particular, their children. However, for a minority of parents, such searches may become excessive and distressing. Little is known about excessive web-based searching by parents for information regarding their children’s health. Objective This study aimed to develop and validate an instrument designed to assess parents' web-based health information searching behavior, the Children’s Health Internet Research, Parental Inventory (CHIRPI). Methods A pilot survey was used to establish the instrument (21 items). CHIRPI was validated online in a second sample (372/384, 96.9% mothers; mean age 32.7 years, SD 5.8). Item analyses, an exploratory factor analysis (EFA), and correlations with parents’ perception of their children’s health-related vulnerability (Child Vulnerability Scale, CVS), parental health anxiety (modified short Health Anxiety Inventory, mSHAI), and parental cyberchondria (Cyberchondria Severity Scale, CSS-15) were calculated. A subset of participants (n=73) provided retest data after 4 weeks. CHIRPI scores (total scores and subscale scores) of parents with a chronically ill child and parents who perceived their child to be vulnerable (CVS+; CVS>10) were compared with 2×2 analyses of variances (ANOVAs) with the factors Child’s Health Status (chronically ill vs healthy) and perceived vulnerability (CVS+ vs CVS−). Results CHIRPI’s internal consistency was standardized alpha=.89. The EFA identified three subscales: Symptom Focus (standardized alpha=.87), Implementing Advice (standardized alpha=.74) and Distress (standardized alpha=.89). The retest reliability of CHIRPI was measured as rtt=0.78. CHIRPI correlated strongly with CSS-15 (r=0.66) and mSHAI (r=0.39). The ANOVAs comparing the CHIRPI total score and the subscale scores for parents having a chronically ill child and parents perceiving their child as vulnerable revealed the main effects for perceiving one’s child as vulnerable but not for having a chronically ill child. No interactions were found. This pattern was observed for the CHIRPI total score (η2=0.053) and each subscale (Symptom Focus η2=0.012; Distress η2=0.113; and Implementing Advice η2=0.018). Conclusions The psychometric properties of CHIRPI are excellent. Correlations with mSHAI and CSS-15 indicate its validity. CHIRPI appears to be differentially sensitive to excessive searches owing to parents perceiving their child’s health to be vulnerable rather than to higher informational needs of parents with chronically ill children. Therefore, it may help to identify parents who search excessively for web-based health information. CHIRPI (and, in particular, the Distress subscale) seems to capture a pattern of factors related to anxious health-related cognitions, emotions, and behaviors of parents, which is also applied to their children.

scholarly journals Pregnancy and parenting experiences of women with twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome: a qualitative study

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Lijie Ren ◽  
Cancan Song ◽  
Chunling Xia ◽  
Nan Wang ◽  
Yan Yang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Health Information ◽  
Disease Diagnosis ◽  
Structured Interview ◽  
Psychological Support ◽  
Children's Health ◽  
Children’S Health ◽  
Referral Process ◽  
Research Subjects ◽  
Interview Method ◽  
Experiences Of Women

Abstract Background Qualitative research can reflect the actual thoughts and experience of research subjects and can be used to explore the experiences of women presenting with twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome (TTTS) to facilitate the provision of targeted psychological support. Methods A semi-structured interview method was used to assess the pregnancy and parenting experiences of women with TTTS. Colaizzi method was used for data analysis. Results Eighteen women participated in the study. We found that women with TTTS during pregnancy experienced persistent worry about their children’s health from the disease diagnosis to the subsequent parenting processes, even in case of minor changes in their children’s health. The lack of an efficient referral process and health information increased their uncertainty about their children’s health. Conclusion In addition to the children’s health, other difficulties encountered during pregnancy and parenting may aggravate the pressure. Clinicians in the first-visit hospital and foetal medicine centre should improve the referral process and establish a follow-up system to provide women with health information and psychological support.

scholarly journals Health literacy practices in social virtual worlds and the influence on health behaviour

2018 ◽  
Vol 25 (4) ◽  
pp. 34-47 ◽  
Author(s):  
Evelyn McElhinney ◽  
Lisa Kidd ◽  
Francine M. Cheater
Keyword(s):  
Social Skills ◽  
Health Literacy ◽  
Health Information ◽  
Health Behaviour ◽  
Virtual World ◽  
Literacy Practices ◽  
Physical World ◽  
Social Model ◽  
World Health ◽  
Distributed Model

This study explored how health information accessed via a 3D social virtual world and the representation of ‘self’ through the use of an avatar impact physical world health behaviour. In-depth interviews were conducted in a sample of 25 people, across 10 countries, who accessed health information in a virtual world (VW): 12 females and 13 males. Interviews were audio-recorded via private in-world voice chat or via private instant message. Thematic analysis was used to analyse the data. The social skills and practices evidenced demonstrate how the collective knowledge and skills of communities in VWs can influence improvements in individual and community health literacy through a distributed model. The findings offer support for moving away from the idea of health literacy as a set of skills which reside within an individual to a sociocultural model of health literacy. Social VWs can offer a place where people can access health information in multiple formats through the use of an avatar, which can influence changes in behaviour in the physical world and the VW. This can lead to an improvement in social skills and health literacy practices and represents a social model of health literacy.

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