1.L. Workshop: The social dimension of health literacy: empirical research and new insights
Authors:   Organised by: EUPHA-HP, University of Hawaii (USA), Technical University of Munich (Germany),   Chair persons: Orkan Okan (EUPHA-HL), Tetine Sentell (USA)
Published: October 2023

Background

The social dimension of health literacy, also referred to as social health literacy or distributed health literacy, is meaningful and captures important aspects of the concept that areavailable within the social environment of people. While many studies in the realm of public health research, both qualitative and quantitative, rather focus the individual context of health literacy, research on the inherent social aspects of health literacy and how social environments and structures impact health literacy are scarce. However, in the recent years the body of empirical health literacy research that particularly looks at the social level and considers the social environment in which people live is growing and helps us to conceptualise health literacy as a resource that exists at a community as well as at an individual level. Studies focusing the social dimension of health literacy are based on sociological theories and socio-ecological concepts. In this new realm of empirical research, new approaches have emerged. Among which are, e.g., the analysis of social practices of health literacy, consideration of social networks and how they shape health literacy and health care interaction, the investigation of how health literacy is distributed within the social environment, how conditions within settings enable or impede that people use health literacy to make healthy decisions, and how this can facilitate an understanding of the wider determinants of health and agency for change across communities. These new approaches are deeply rooted in the fact that health literacy is always socially embedded. In daily life, the ability to make good health decisions, manage health information appropriately, or communicate effectively are influenced by one's social network.

Objectives

The purpose of this workshop is to focus on research on ‘social health literacy’. In the first part we will present and discuss insights from 4 projects that focus on the social aspect of health literacy. (i) The first presentation will introduce new findings in critical health literacy, which enables individuals and communities to reflect on the wider determinants of health. (ii) The second presentation will focus on key insights from a regional effort to build a health literacy community through social networks. (iii) The third presentation will focus on health literacy practices in a social online environment. (iv) The final presentation will illuminate medication safety through a social determinants of health and health literacy. Each project will be given 12 minutes (8 mins presentation & 4 mins for Q&A). The participants in turn will learn about recent results they can use in public health research, practice and policy. The second part of the workshop is dedicated to discuss best practices regarding cross-national comparative research in the field of social health literacy and vision future project opportunities.

Key messages

• The social dimension of health literacy have emerged in the past years and illuminates how social networks, environments and settings influence how and if people achieve their health goals.

• This workshop will encourage and support research on health literacy in a social context, both for individual and in social networks of organizations, aiming at targeted approaches and heath equity.