Parental health literacy: from evidence to interventions
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.25758/set.2237Keywords:
Health literacy, Parents, Information, CounsellingAbstract
The influence of the social determinants of health on child health is widely recognized. Health literacy is seen as a critical component to improve child health and reduce inequalities. As in the general population, many parents have a low level of health literacy, which affects their ability to protect their child's health. In this work, we intend to describe the relationship between parental health literacy, parental behaviors, and child health outcomes. In addition, interventions to address parental health literacy will be discussed. The effects of parental health literacy are wide-ranging, affecting different parental behaviors and different child health outcomes, across the domains of health promotion, disease prevention, acute illness care, and chronic illness care. Most interventions to promote parenting health literacy are based on verbal counseling and the provision of written materials, following the application of the “universal precautions” principle and adopting validated methodologies. The data suggest the need for socio-ecological approaches, which invest in creating supporting environments along with the promotion of parents' health literacy skills. Addressing parents' health literacy in a sustainable way implies adopting a family-centered approach, using universal precautions, and gaining a better alignment between the demands placed on parents and their health literacy skills.
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