Health Literacy in Children

This research has two objectives:

1. To gain insight into which health literacy skills are relevant for children aged 9-12.

2. To identify potential successful components for learning optimal health literacy skills to children.

The intended results of the study are:

• An overview of the operationalisations of health literacy skills among children aged 9-12 years.
• Identification of the important health literacy skills for children aged 9-12 years in the Netherlands.
• Insight into how children (want to) learn these health literacy skills.

01 September 2019 - 31 December 2024

First, a scoping review was conducted to examine the operationalization of health literacy skills. Additionally, a qualitative study was carried out to assess the comprehensibility and applicability of a Dutch measurement tool for health literacy skills. Focus groups were also conducted with children to gather their perspectives on what they believe health literacy means and entails.

In a modified Delphi study, international and national experts will strive for consensus in two phases regarding the applicability and importance of HL operationalisations for children aged 9-12 (in the Netherlands). Finally, a design study will be conducted, involving collaboration with children, parents, and schools to co-create an instructional framework for facilitating children's learning and measurement of the selected health literacy skills in a school context.

Supervision promotion
This PhD research is supervised by Prof. Mai Chin A Paw from the VU University Medical Centre Amsterdam, and by supervising professor Prof. Katarina Jerković-Ćosić. For this project we collaborate with research groups of the Research centre for Healthy and Sustainable Living, the Research group Social Interaction in Public Spaces, and the Research group Youth.