A social ecological conceptual framework for understanding adolescent health literacy in the health education classroom.
With the rising concern over chronic health conditions and their prevention and management, health literacy is emerging as an important public health issue. As with the development of other forms of literacy, the ability for students to be able to access, understand, evaluate and communicate health information is a skill best developed during their years of public schooling. Health education curricula offer one approach to develop health literacy, yet little is known about its influence on neither students nor their experiences within an educational context. In this article, we describe our experience applying a social ecological model to investigating the implementation of a health education curriculum in four high schools in British Columbia, Canada. We used the model to guide a conceptual understanding of health literacy, develop research questions, select data collection strategies, and interpret the findings. Reflections and recommendations for using the model are offered.
School of Exercise Science, Physical and Health Education, Faculty of Education, University of Victoria, PO Box 3015, STN CSC, Victoria, BC, V8W 3P1, Canada. jwharfhi@uvic.ca
Joan
J
Wharf Higgins
Deborah
D
Begoray
Marjorie
M
MacDonald
D000293:Adolescent; D001364:Awareness; D003156:Community Mental Health Services / Q000458:organization & administration; D006266:Health Education; D057220:Health Literacy; D006798:Housing; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000523:psychology; D012111:Residence Characteristics; D012572:School Health Services / Q000458:organization & administration*; D012919:Social Behavior; D012931:Social Environment