Exploring health perceptions and priorities of South African youth: understanding what matters for health literacy interventions
Exploring health perceptions and priorities of South African youth: understanding what matters for health literacy interventions
Background and Objectives: Health literacy is a key factor underpinning health behaviours and effective use of health information. Optimising health literacy in adolescents and young adults (AYA) is critical as they transition from childhood to adulthood, changing health-related behaviours alongside physical, emotional, and cognitive change. In South African AYA, with unplanned pregnancy common, poor health literacy may impact multiple generations. Our aim was to explore health perceptions and priorities of South African AYA to inform contextually relevant health literacy intervention design. Materials and Methods: Through purposive sampling of youth registered at a youth development centre in Soweto, South Africa, AYA (n=39, 18-25y) were recruited to form an advisory Youth Health Council (YHC). Health literacy was assessed with the Health Literacy Test for Limited Literacy populations (HELTLL). Focus group discussions were recorded for inductive thematic analysis to inform AYA health literacy needs. Results: Most AYA (85%) had suboptimal health literacy. Analysis showed that AYA perceived ‘health’ as a complex mix of indicators (physical, emotional, mental, spiritual) that formed a holistic view of health. However, lack of funds and factors inherent in their local environment (food systems, family hierarchy, crime, vandalism, limited healthcare services) frequently challenged beneficial health behaviours. Stress was a common feature in the lives of AYA associated with multiple health domains. Conclusion: Stress-focused health literacy interventions are needed for youth in challenging environments. Understanding the complex constructions and the core tenets of health that young people hold can inform contextually relevant intervention co-creation for improved health literacy as youth transition into adulthoods.
Health engagement, health literacy, health promotion, Participatory research, South Africa, young adults
9-26
Ware, Lisa J.
74860e6c-ac74-44ae-bb62-a7a2032852ba
Mabetha, Khuthala
6b05becb-751a-4c79-b95f-8413ee0c17b1
Hanson, Mark
1952fad1-abc7-4284-a0bc-a7eb31f70a3f
Godfrey, Keith M.
0931701e-fe2c-44b5-8f0d-ec5c7477a6fd
Woods-Townsend, Kathryn
af927fa3-30b6-47d9-8b4d-4d254b3a7aab
Norris, Shane
1d346f1b-6d5f-4bca-ac87-7589851b75a4
January 2024
Ware, Lisa J.
74860e6c-ac74-44ae-bb62-a7a2032852ba
Mabetha, Khuthala
6b05becb-751a-4c79-b95f-8413ee0c17b1
Hanson, Mark
1952fad1-abc7-4284-a0bc-a7eb31f70a3f
Godfrey, Keith M.
0931701e-fe2c-44b5-8f0d-ec5c7477a6fd
Woods-Townsend, Kathryn
af927fa3-30b6-47d9-8b4d-4d254b3a7aab
Norris, Shane
1d346f1b-6d5f-4bca-ac87-7589851b75a4
Ware, Lisa J., Mabetha, Khuthala, Hanson, Mark, Godfrey, Keith M., Woods-Townsend, Kathryn and Norris, Shane
(2024)
Exploring health perceptions and priorities of South African youth: understanding what matters for health literacy interventions.
Journal of Health Literacy, 8 (4), .
(doi:10.22038/JHL.2023.71473.1405).
Abstract
Background and Objectives: Health literacy is a key factor underpinning health behaviours and effective use of health information. Optimising health literacy in adolescents and young adults (AYA) is critical as they transition from childhood to adulthood, changing health-related behaviours alongside physical, emotional, and cognitive change. In South African AYA, with unplanned pregnancy common, poor health literacy may impact multiple generations. Our aim was to explore health perceptions and priorities of South African AYA to inform contextually relevant health literacy intervention design. Materials and Methods: Through purposive sampling of youth registered at a youth development centre in Soweto, South Africa, AYA (n=39, 18-25y) were recruited to form an advisory Youth Health Council (YHC). Health literacy was assessed with the Health Literacy Test for Limited Literacy populations (HELTLL). Focus group discussions were recorded for inductive thematic analysis to inform AYA health literacy needs. Results: Most AYA (85%) had suboptimal health literacy. Analysis showed that AYA perceived ‘health’ as a complex mix of indicators (physical, emotional, mental, spiritual) that formed a holistic view of health. However, lack of funds and factors inherent in their local environment (food systems, family hierarchy, crime, vandalism, limited healthcare services) frequently challenged beneficial health behaviours. Stress was a common feature in the lives of AYA associated with multiple health domains. Conclusion: Stress-focused health literacy interventions are needed for youth in challenging environments. Understanding the complex constructions and the core tenets of health that young people hold can inform contextually relevant intervention co-creation for improved health literacy as youth transition into adulthoods.
Text
JHL-2303-1405 R2
- Accepted Manuscript
More information
Accepted/In Press date: 14 October 2023
Published date: January 2024
Additional Information:
For the purpose of Open Access, the author has applied a Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) licence to any Author Accepted Manuscript version arising from this submission.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2024, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences. All rights reserved.
Keywords:
Health engagement, health literacy, health promotion, Participatory research, South Africa, young adults
Identifiers
Local EPrints ID: 484198
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/484198
PURE UUID: a8c1f0d2-3ac2-40b7-a646-204a678160ab
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Date deposited: 13 Nov 2023 17:54
Last modified: 15 Aug 2024 02:12
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Author:
Lisa J. Ware
Author:
Khuthala Mabetha
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