scholarly journals Should Public Health Literacy Be a Core Requirement for College Students?

2020 ◽  
Vol 26 (4) ◽  
pp. 304-305
Author(s):  
Jay E. Maddock ◽  
Justin B. Moore
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dongjin Chen ◽  
Qian Zhou ◽  
Cornelius B. Pratt ◽  
Zhenhua Su ◽  
Zheng Gu

Objective: Public trust in physicians and public health literacy (HL) are important factors that ensure the effectiveness of health-care delivery, particularly that provided during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. This study investigates HL as a predictor of public trust in physicians in China's ongoing efforts to control COVID-19.Methods: Data were gathered in February 2020 during the peak of the disease in China. Based on Nutbeam's conceptualization of HL, we measure HL vis-à-vis COVID-19 by using a six-item scale that includes two items each for functional, interactive, and critical HL. Trust in physicians was measured by assessing physicians' capability to diagnose COVID-19. A rank-sum test and ordinal logit regression modeling were used to analyze the data.Results: Two key findings: (a) trust in physician handling of treatment for COVID-19 is reported by about 74% of respondents; and (b) five of the six HL measures are positive predictors of public trust in physician treatment of the disease, with functional HL1 having the highest level of such association (coefficient 0.285, odds ratio 1.33%, p < 0.01).Conclusions: Improving public HL is important for better public-physician relationships, as well as for nations' efforts to contain the pandemic, serving as a possible behavioral, non-clinical antidote to COVID-19. Being confronted with the unprecedented virus, humans need trust. Health education and risk communication can improve public compliance with physicians' requirements and build a solid foundation for collective responses.


2017 ◽  
Vol 32 (6) ◽  
pp. 1386-1401 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hannah Lane ◽  
Kathleen J. Porter ◽  
Erin Hecht ◽  
Priscilla Harris ◽  
Vivica Kraak ◽  
...  

Purpose: To test the feasibility of Kids SIP smartER, a school-based intervention to reduce consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs). Design: Matched-contact randomized crossover study with mixed-methods analysis. Setting: One middle school in rural, Appalachian Virginia. Participants: Seventy-four sixth and seventh graders (5 classrooms) received Kids SIP smartER in random order over 2 intervention periods. Feasibility outcomes were assessed among 2 teachers. Intervention: Kids SIP smartER consisted of 6 lessons grounded in the Theory of Planned Behavior, media literacy, and public health literacy and aimed to improve individual SSB behaviors and understanding of media literacy and prevalent regional disparities. The matched-contact intervention promoted physical activity. Measures: Beverage Intake Questionnaire-15 (SSB consumption), validated theory questionnaires, feasibility questionnaires (student and teacher), student focus groups, teacher interviews, and process data (eg, attendance). Analysis: Repeated measures analysis of variances across 3 time points, descriptive statistics, and deductive analysis of qualitative data. Results: During the first intervention period, students receiving Kids SIP smartER (n = 43) significantly reduced SSBs by 11 ounces/day ( P = .01) and improved media ( P < .001) and public health literacy ( P < .01) understanding; however, only media literacy showed between-group differences ( P < .01). Students and teachers found Kids SIP smartER acceptable, in-demand, practical, and implementable within existing resources. Conclusion: Kids SIP smartER is feasible in an underresourced, rural school setting. Results will inform further development and large-scale testing of Kids SIP smartER to reduce SSBs among rural adolescents.


2009 ◽  
Vol 36 (5) ◽  
pp. 446-451 ◽  
Author(s):  
Darcy A. Freedman ◽  
Kimberly D. Bess ◽  
Holly A. Tucker ◽  
David L. Boyd ◽  
Arleen M. Tuchman ◽  
...  

2005 ◽  
Vol 28 (3) ◽  
pp. 317-322 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julie A. Gazmararian ◽  
James W. Curran ◽  
Ruth M. Parker ◽  
Jay M. Bernhardt ◽  
Barbara A. DeBuono

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiaowei Ma ◽  
Jianyun Lu ◽  
Weisi Liu

Background: Social media is used as a new channel for health information. In China, the official WeChat account is becoming the most popular platform for health information dissemination, which has created a good opportunity for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to facilitate health information online to improve emergency public health literacy.Methods: Data were collected from the Guangzhou CDC i-Health official WeChat account between April 1, 2018 and April 30, 2019. Descriptive analysis was performed for basic information about the followers and posts of the official WeChat account. Multiple logistic regression analysis was used to analyze the association among various factors of posts on engagement of followers of the official WeChat account.Results: Among 187,033 followers, the total numbers of post views, shares, likes, add to favorites, and comments for 213 posts were 1,147,308, 8,4671, and 5,535, respectively. Engagement of followers peaked on the dissemination date and gradually declined. The main post topics were health education posts and original posts. In the multiple logistic regression model, the number of post views was found to be significantly associated with infectious disease posts (AOR: 3.20, 95% CI: 1.16–8.81), original posts (AOR: 10.20, 95% CI: 1.17–89.28), and posts with title-reflected content (AOR: 2.93, 95% CI: 1.16–8.81).Conclusion: Our findings facilitate the government to formulate better strategies and improve the effectiveness of public information dissemination.


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