Implementation of school health literacy in Australia: A systematic review

Background: The development of adolescent health literacy through school-based programmes is attracting international interest. However, there exist competing definitions, models and understandings of how these programmes should be conceptualised, implemented and evaluated. Australian Curriculum documents such as those relating to health and physical education currently focus on health literacy both in terms of learning outcomes and subject matter. Objective: This paper presents an evidence-informed framework for planning, implementing and evaluating health literacy school-based programmes and determining whether current Australian school-based health literacy programmes meet these guidelines. Methods: A systematic review was undertaken of PubMed, MEDLINE, PsycINFO, ERIC, ScienceDirect and the A+ Education databases. We included articles that had been published online or in print between 2010 and February 2017. We set limits on the earliest publication date to ensure we included those programmes designed to align with the health and physical education component of the Australian Curriculum and focused on health literacy outcomes. Results: Three studies were identified from a pool of 623 records. Two of the three studies had mental health literacy as the primary outcome. The third study more qualitatively assessed teachers' and students' perceptions of health literacy learning and whether these might have an impact on further health behaviour. Only one of the studies met the evidence-informed criteria. Conclusion: Recommendations are made for future school-based adolescent health literacy programmes. Producing an evidence-informed framework for enhancing adolescent health literacy through school-based programmes may enhance the future planning, implementation and assessment of adolescent health literacy in Australian secondary schools.