Health literacy and the social determinants of health

A qualitative model from adult learners

Bibliographic Data

ID22945495
AuthorsGuy Rowlands (0000-0001-7388-7771, Aarhus University, corresponding author), Gillian Rowlands, Adrienne Shaw (0000-0001-5526-1839, London South Bank University), Sabrena Jaswal (0000-0001-5755-0415, London South Bank University), Sian K Smith (0000-0002-9541-2221, UNSW Sydney), Sian Smith, Trudy Harpham (0000-0003-4262-9352, London South Bank University)
Year2015
Volume32
Issue1
Pagesdav093
Publication date2015-09-27
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueHealth Promotion International (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0957-4824 • E-ISSN: 1460-2245
PublisherOxford University Press (OUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1093/heapro/dav093
PMID28180257
OpenAlexW2255143776
LanguageEN
Citations received31
References cited20

Health literacy, ‘the personal characteristics and social resources needed for individuals and communities to access, understand, appraise and use information and services to make decisions about health’, is key to improving peoples’ control over modifiable social determinants of health (SDH). This study listened to adult learners to understand their perspectives on gathering, understanding and using information for health. This qualitative project recruited participants from community skills courses to identify relevant ‘health information’ factors. Subsequently different learners put these together to develop a model of their ‘Journey to health’. Twenty-seven participants were recruited; twenty from community health literacy courses and seven from an adult basic literacy and numeracy course. Participants described health as a ‘journey’ starting from an individual's family, ethnicity and culture. Basic (functional) health literacy skills were needed to gather and understand information. More complex interactive health literacy skills were needed to evaluate the importance and relevance of information in context, and make health decisions. Critical health literacy skills could be used to adapt negative external factors that might inhibit health-promotion. Our model is an iterative linear one moving from ethnicity, community and culture, through lifestyle, to health, with learning revisited in the context of different sources of support. It builds on existing models by highlighting the importance of SDH in the translation of new health knowledge into healthy behaviours, and the importance of health literacy in enabling people to overcome barriers to health.

Developmental psychology · Environmental health · Health care · Health literacy · Literacy · Pedagogy · Political science · Public health · Qualitative research · Social determinants of health · Social science · Sociology · Global Public Health Policies and Epidemiology · Health Literacy and Information Accessibility · Medicine · Mobile Health and mHealth Applications · Nursing · Psychology