TEEN LIT: Health literacy among young people in Switzerland in an increasingly digital society
Confidently handling health information is crucial not only for adults, but also for young people. To do so, they need sufficient health literacy to help them make informed decisions concerning their health and well-being. Our new research project builds on this and examines the health literacy and digital health literacy of young people in Switzerland for the first time.
In an increasingly digital and connected society, young people are regularly confronted with digital health information that can influence their decisions about health and well-being. In addition, they are at an age when risky behaviour patterns can develop and health-related decisions are no longer made by their parents, but by themselves. Adequate health literacy is therefore essential. However, we still know little about how young people deal with digital health information and their health literacy. This is because there is currently no data available in Switzerland on the health literacy or digital health literacy of young people. There is also a lack of suitable measurement tools to collect this data.
Study on the (digital) health literacy of young people in Switzerland
To close this research gap, the Careum Centre for Health Literacy, in cooperation with the Careum School of Health, the Zurich University of Applied Sciences (ZHAW) (Prof. Dr Julia Dratva, Co-PI) and with partners in Ticino (Prof. Dr. Suzanne Suggs, Università della Svizzera italiana) and in French-speaking Switzerland (Marina Delgrande Jordan, Sucht Schweiz). The study is funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) as part of the "Health Research and Wellbeing at UAS and UTE" funding instrument (project number 227383).
Project objective and methodological approach
This project is the first to examine health literacy, digital health literacy and related factors in a nationwide data collection among young people (aged 14 to 17 years). In addition, a measurement tool for assessing digital health literacy is developed in collaboration with young people. The study is supported by an International Expert Advisory Group consisting of eight international experts in the fields of health literacy, child and adolescent health, and public health. In addition, five young people aged 14 to 17 years are invited to join a Youth Expert Advisory Group to contribute their perspective throughout the research project.
Relevance of the research project
The results of the project will allow us to identify the challenges young people face when dealing with health information and services. The study will also provide insights into young people's information-seeking behaviour, their health topics of interest, and the factors that influence their health literacy. The research project will thus help to develop evidence-based recommendations for strengthening young people's health literacy.