scholarly journals Does health literacy explain the link between structural stratifiers and adolescent health?

2019 ◽  
Vol 29 (5) ◽  
pp. 919-924 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leena T Paakkari ◽  
Minna P Torppa ◽  
Olli-Pekka Paakkari ◽  
Raili S Välimaa ◽  
Kristiina S A Ojala ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Health Disparities ◽  
Health Literacy ◽  
Health Outcomes ◽  
Health Behaviour ◽  
Educational Aspirations ◽  
Pearson Correlation ◽  
School Achievement ◽  
Health Indicators ◽  
Health Behaviours ◽  
Positive Health

Abstract Background The concept of health literacy (HL) may help us to better understand the mechanisms leading to health disparities, and to focus on the factors that can be influenced. However, not much is yet known about how HL is related to health disparities, or whether the association exists among adolescents. The aim of the study was to examine the associations between structural stratifiers, HL and health indicators among adolescents. Methods The nationally representative Finnish Health Behaviour in School-aged Children survey data (n=3833) were collected from 13- and 15-year-old pupils in the spring of 2014. Pearson correlation coefficients were calculated, and separate path models were estimated for the perceived health and health behaviour measures. Results HL was found to be an independent factor explaining disparities in health. Higher HL was related to positive health outcomes. HL also acted as a mediator between health behaviours and structural stratifiers, except for gender. School achievement and educational aspirations were among the factors explaining the HL level, which in turn, explained the health indicators. Conclusion The concept of HL is of use in understanding health disparities. In particular, HL provides a mechanism via which school achievement and educational plans affect health outcomes. Low HL places adolescents who have poor school achievement and who do not intend to continue on an academic path in an unequal position with respect to their health.

scholarly journals The untapped potential of the gaming community: A narrative review. (Preprint)

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
William Goodman ◽  
Ethna McFerran ◽  
Richard Purves ◽  
Ian Redpath ◽  
Rebecca J Beeken
Keyword(s):  
Video Games ◽  
Health Information ◽  
Health Behaviour ◽  
Exponential Growth ◽  
Virtual Communities ◽  
Health Behaviours ◽  
Positive Health ◽  
Video Gamers ◽  
Positive Results ◽  
Improve Health

UNSTRUCTURED Video gamers are a population at heightened risk of developing obesity due to the sedentary nature of gaming, increased energy intake and the disruption caused to their sleep. This increases their risk of developing a number of non-communicable diseases. To date, research seeking to improve health behaviours has focussed on developing novel video games to promote behaviour change. Although positive results have emerged from this research, the success has been limited due to the lack of transferability to more mainstream games and the focus on children and adolescents. However, the gaming community has a number of unique aspects which, in comparison to the development of new video games, have received less attention. Research has found that advertising can have implicit effects on individual’s memories which could influence their later decisions. Yet the effect of the exponential growth of in-game advertisements, and brand sponsorship of gaming events and professional gamers, has not been explored in the gaming community. Nor has the possibility of using advertising techniques to encourage positive health behaviours within games or at these events. Research suggests that virtual communities can be effective at disseminating health information, but the efficacy of this needs to be explored utilising known community influencers within the gaming community. The purpose of this paper is to highlight these under-researched areas that have the potential to encourage positive health behaviour among this community.

scholarly journals A Survey of Therapeutic Radiographers’ Knowledge, Practices, and Barriers in Delivering Health Behaviour Advice to Cancer Patients

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nickola D. Pallin ◽  
Rebecca J. Beeken ◽  
Kathy Pritchard Jones ◽  
Nick Woznitza ◽  
Abigail Fisher
Keyword(s):  
Cancer Patients ◽  
Health Behaviour ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Healthy Lifestyle ◽  
Health Behaviours ◽  
Positive Health ◽  
Knowledge Resources ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Healthy Behaviour ◽  
And Training

Abstract Therapeutic radiographers (TRs) are well-placed to deliver advice to cancer patients; however, limited research exists on their practices in providing advice on healthy lifestyle behaviours. Through an online survey, this study aimed to explore TRs’ current practices, barriers, and facilitators around delivering healthy behaviour advice to cancer patients. An online survey was sent to 72 radiotherapy departments in the UK and 583 TRs responded to the survey. Findings showed that levels of enquiry and provision of advice on healthy behaviours were low, with less than 25% advising patients on physical activity, healthy eating, weight management, smoking cessation, and reducing alcohol intake as standard practice. Lack of knowledge, resources, and training were identified as barriers, in addition to perceived lack of patient interest and lack of time. TRs reported a strong desire to undergo training to enable them to deliver health behaviour advice to patients, with an identified preference for online training. Cancer patients look to healthcare professionals for advice on health behaviours, and TRs are well-placed to deliver this advice. The findings of this study provide insight into the areas that need addressing to enable TRs to support positive health behaviours among cancer patients.

Health Disparities, a Social Determinant of Health and Risk: Considerations for Health and Risk Messaging

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nancy Grant Harrington
Keyword(s):  
Health Disparities ◽  
Health Literacy ◽  
Health Outcomes ◽  
Health Information ◽  
Information Seeking ◽  
Media Coverage ◽  
Access To Health Care ◽  
Determinants Of Health ◽  
Health Information Seeking ◽  
Starting Point

Health disparities are differences in health outcomes between socially disadvantaged and advantaged groups. This essay provides a brief review of the voluminous literature on health disparities, with a focus on several major threads including populations of interest, incidence and prevalence of morbidity and mortality, determinants of health, health literacy and health information seeking, media influences on health disparities, and efforts to reduce disparities. Populations of interest tend to be defined primarily by socioeconomic status (income/education), race, ethnicity, and sex or gender; however, differences in sexual orientation, immigrant status, geography, and physical and mental disability are also of concern. Determinants of health can be categorized along a number of dimensions, but common designations consider behavioral, social, and environmental factors that lead to health disparities, as well as differences in access to health care and health services. Of central interest to communication researchers, differences in health literacy and health information seeking are revealed between advantaged and disadvantaged groups. Media influences involve the effects of access or exposure to different kinds of health information on the health behavior and health outcomes of different groups, as well as the effects of health disparity media coverage on public support for initiatives to reduce health disparities. Efforts to reduce health disparities are extensive and involve government and foundation efforts and research-driven interventions. Taking a broader view, this essay briefly discusses trends in scholarship on health disparities, noting the precipitous increase in academic journal article publications on the topic, including the publication of journals specifically focused on publishing health disparities scholarship. Future directions for research are suggested, and recommendations for interventions to improve health disparities offered by the Principal Investigators of the 10 Centers for Population Health and Health Disparities are presented. Finally, an annotated list of primary sources (books, special issues of journals, reports) and a list of sources for further reading are offered to provide a starting point for beginning scholars to orient themselves to research in health disparities.

Mobile Health Literacy to Improve Health Outcomes in Low-Middle Income Countries

2017 ◽  
pp. 1398-1411
Author(s):  
Nafisa Fatima Maria Vaz
Keyword(s):  
Health Literacy ◽  
Health Outcomes ◽  
Mobile Phones ◽  
Health Indicators ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Middle Income ◽  
Mortality And Morbidity ◽  
Middle Income Countries ◽  
Feasible Solutions ◽  
Improve Health

Despite improvements in health indicators over time, such as decreased mortality and morbidity, significant challenges remain with regard to the quality in the delivery of healthcare in low and middle-income countries (LMIC's), especially in rural and remote regions of developing countries. In the effort to find feasible solutions to these issues, a lot of importance is given to the information and communication technologies (ICTs) The author reviews the evidence of the role mobile phones facilitating health literacy to contribute to improved health outcomes in the LMIC's. This was done by exploring the results of ten projects. The author examines the extent to which the use of mobile phones could help improve health outcomes in two specific ways: in improving health literacy and promoting health and well-being, thus increasing life expectancy in LMIC's. Analysis of the papers indicates that there is important evidence of mobile phones boosting increased access, promoting education and increased health literacy leads to the better health status of the population.

scholarly journals Do low-carbon-emission diets lead to higher nutritional quality and positive health outcomes? A systematic review of the literature

2016 ◽  
Vol 19 (14) ◽  
pp. 2654-2661 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charlotte LR Payne ◽  
Peter Scarborough ◽  
Linda Cobiac
Keyword(s):  
Health Outcomes ◽  
Dietary Patterns ◽  
Nutritional Quality ◽  
Saturated Fat ◽  
Health Indicators ◽  
Low Carbon ◽  
Dietary Recommendations ◽  
Positive Health ◽  
Animal Products ◽  
Micronutrient Intake

AbstractObjectiveTo evaluate what is known about the relative health impacts, in terms of nutrient intake and health outcomes, of diets with reduced greenhouse gas emissions (GHGE).DesignWe systematically reviewed the results of published studies that link GHGE of dietary patterns to nutritional content or associated consequences for health.SettingWe included studies published in English in peer-reviewed journals that included data on actual and modelled diets and enabled a matched comparison of GHGE with nutrient composition and/or health outcomes.SubjectsStudies included used data from subjects from the general population, who had taken part in dietary surveys or prospective cohort studies.ResultsWe identified sixteen eligible studies, with data on 100 dietary patterns. We present the results as dietary links between GHGE reduction and impact on nutrients to limit (n 151), micronutrient content (n 158) and health outcomes (n 25). The results were highly heterogeneous. Across all measures of ‘healthiness’, 64 % (n 214) of dietary links show that reduced GHGE from diets were associated with worse health indicators. However, some trends emerged. In particular, reduced saturated fat and salt are often associated with reduced GHGE in diets that are low in animal products (57/84). Yet these diets are also often high in sugar (38/55) and low in essential micronutrients (129/158).ConclusionsDietary scenarios that have lower GHGE compared with average consumption patterns may not result in improvements in nutritional quality or health outcomes. Dietary recommendations for reduced GHGE must also address sugar consumption and micronutrient intake.

Low knowledge of physical health behaviours is associated with poor diet and chronic illness in adults

2016 ◽  
Vol 22 (3) ◽  
pp. 226 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert Stanton ◽  
David Scott ◽  
Brenda Happell
Keyword(s):  
Health Promotion ◽  
Chronic Illness ◽  
Health Literacy ◽  
Physical Health ◽  
Health Behaviour ◽  
Health Knowledge ◽  
Daily Intake ◽  
Health Behaviours ◽  
Good Knowledge ◽  
Annual Household Income

Governments invest heavily in health promotion strategies to improve physical health behaviours. However, the dietary and physical activity practices of many Australians fail to meet minimum levels for health, leading to the unacceptably high prevalence of chronic and complex illness. Health literacy is known to impact on health behaviour, and to be related to health knowledge; however, no studies have specifically examined knowledge of physical health behaviours in an Australian context. We assessed knowledge of physical health behaviours in 1244 adults in Queensland, Australia. Almost two-thirds of respondents had a ‘Good’ knowledge of physical health behaviour. People with ‘Good’ knowledge of physical health behaviours were more likely to be female, educated beyond secondary school, be employed and have an annual household income of >$52000 (P<0.05). People with ‘Low’ knowledge of physical health behaviours were significantly more likely to report insufficient intake of vegetables and have at least one chronic illness (P<0.05). Binary logistic regression shows low daily intake of vegetables to have the strongest association with low knowledge of physical health behaviours. Given the association between health knowledge and health literacy, assessment of the knowledge of physical health behaviours may provide considerable insight into the effectiveness of future health promotion interventions.

Mobile Health Literacy to Improve Health Outcomes in Low-Middle Income Countries

2017 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 4-16 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nafisa Fatima Maria Vaz
Keyword(s):  
Health Literacy ◽  
Health Outcomes ◽  
Information And Communication Technologies ◽  
Mobile Phones ◽  
Health Indicators ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Middle Income ◽  
Middle Income Countries ◽  
Low Middle Income Countries ◽  
Improve Health

Despite improvements in health indicators over time, such as decreased mortality and morbidity, significant challenges remain with regard to the quality in the delivery of healthcare in low and middle-income countries (LMIC's), especially in rural and remote regions of developing countries.In the effort to find feasible solutions to these issues, a lot of importance is given to the information and communication technologies (ICTs) The author reviews the evidence of the role mobile phones facilitating health literacy to contribute to improved health outcomes in the LMIC's. This was done by exploring the results of ten projects. The author examines the extent to which the use of mobile phones could help improve health outcomes in two specific ways: in improving health literacy and promoting health and well-being, thus increasing life expectancy in LMIC's. Analysis of the papers indicates that there is important evidence of mobile phones boosting increased access, promoting education and increased health literacy leads to the better health status of the population.

scholarly journals Subjective health literacy among school-aged children

2018 ◽  
Vol 118 (2) ◽  
pp. 182-195 ◽  
Author(s):  
Olli Paakkari ◽  
Minna Torppa ◽  
Jari Villberg ◽  
Lasse Kannas ◽  
Leena Paakkari
Keyword(s):  
Health Literacy ◽  
Educational Aspirations ◽  
School Achievement ◽  
Learning Difficulties ◽  
Total Sample ◽  
Subjective Health ◽  
Family Affluence ◽  
Content Type ◽  
School Aged Children ◽  
Nationally Representative

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore Finnish adolescents’ subjective health literacy (HL) in association to school achievement, learning difficulties, educational aspirations, and family affluence. Design/methodology/approach Nationally representative data were collected in Finland as a part of the international Health Behaviour in School-aged Children study. The respondents consisted in total of 3,833 adolescents (7th and 9th graders) from 359 schools. The Health Literacy for School-aged Children instrument was applied to measure adolescents’ subjective HL, while the Family Affluence Scale was used to measure adolescents’ socioeconomic status. Information was gathered on school achievement, learning difficulties, and educational aspirations. Findings Approximately one-third of the adolescents manifested a high level of HL, around 60 per cent had a moderate level of HL, and about one-tenth had low HL. The HL level was lower for boys than for girls, and lower for 7th graders than for 9th graders. In the total sample, the strongest explanatory variables for HL were school achievement in the first language, and educational aspirations. Originality/value This study provides the first nationally representative examination of adolescents’ subjective HL levels, and how these vary across age and gender groups. In drawing conclusions and presenting suggestions for HL interventions, it is important to verify the nature of the HL examined in any given study, and how it was researched.

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