Context: Despite the substantial investment by Australian health authorities to improve the health of rural and remote communities, rural residents continue to experience health care access challenges and poorer health outcomes. Health literacy and community engagement are both considered critical in addressing these health inequities. However, the current focus on health literacy can place undue burdens of responsibility for healthcare on individuals from disadvantaged communities whilst not taking due account of broader community needs and healthcare expectations. This can also marginalize the influence of community solidarity and mobilization in effecting healthcare improvements.
Objective: The objective is to present a conceptual framework that describes community literacy, its alignment with health literacy, and its relationship to concepts of community engaged healthcare.
Findings: Community literacy aims to integrate community knowledge, skills and resources into the design, delivery and adaptation of healthcare policies, and services at regional and local levels, with the provision of primary, secondary, and tertiary healthcare that aligns to individual community contexts. A set of principles is proposed to support the development of community literacy. Three levels of community literacy education for health personnel have been described that align with those applied to health literacy for consumers. It is proposed that community literacy education can facilitate transformational community engagement. Skills acquired by health personnel from senior executives to frontline clinical staff, can also lead to enhanced opportunities to promote health literacy for individuals.
Conclusions: The integration of health and community literacy provides a holistic framework that has the potential to effectively respond to the diversity of rural and remote Australian communities and their healthcare needs and expectations. Further research is required to develop, validate, and evaluate the three levels of community literacy education and alignment to health policy, prior to promoting its uptake more widely.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S1463423620000481 | DOI Listing |
Cureus
December 2024
Community Medicine, Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College, Belagavi, IND.
Background: For every woman, menstruation is a natural physiological process, and the adolescence period marks the beginning of the menstruation process. Investing the right knowledge in girls at a young age directs a better future for women, children, and families, thereby leading to intergenerational impact.
Objective: This study aims to evaluate the impact of health education on reproductive health among pre-university girls in an urban area.
Cureus
December 2024
Community Medicine, Shri. B. M. Patil Medical College, Hospital and Research Centre, BLDE (Deemed to be University), Vijayapura, IND.
Background Consanguineous marriages, defined as unions between closely related individuals, are influenced by a complex interplay of cultural, social, economic, religious, and demographic factors. These marriages are prevalent among communities such as Hindus, Muslims, Jews, Buddhists, Christians, and Parsis in Southern and Western Asia, with significant regional variations within India. There is a lack of appropriate decision-making among women in consanguineous unions, particularly those with a low level of educational attainment, which leads to an increase in the prevalence of consanguineous marriages.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJMIR Pediatr Parent
January 2025
Department of Sport Science and Physical Activity, Taibah University, Medina, Saudi Arabia.
Background: Obesity rates among Saudi adolescents are increasing, with regional variations highlighting the need for tailored interventions. School-based health programs in Saudi Arabia are limited and often emphasize weight and body size, potentially exacerbating body image dissatisfaction. There is limited knowledge on the feasibility of non-weight-centric educational programs in Saudi Arabia and their effects on health behaviors and body image.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFInsects
January 2025
Department of Entomology, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA 24061, USA.
Each year, the Department of Entomology at Virginia Tech hosts an entomology-themed outreach event known as Hokie BugFest. This on-campus, festival-sized experience aims to educate the public about insects and other arthropods through hands-on activities, games, displays, and live arthropods. In 2021, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Hokie BugFest and similar large public events were cancelled.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAntibiotics (Basel)
January 2025
Department of Public Health Pharmacy and Management, School of Pharmacy, Sefako Makgatho Health Sciences University, Ga-Rankuwa 0208, South Africa.
Background/objectives: Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a major global health challenge, particularly in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Understanding the knowledge, attitudes, motivations, and expectations of community members regarding antimicrobial use is essential for effective stewardship interventions. This scoping review aimed to identify key themes relating to the critical areas regarding antimicrobial use among community members in primary healthcare (PHC), with a particular focus on LMICs.
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