Naigaga, Desire Alice and Kavanagh, Jennifer and Spillane, Ailbhe and Hickey, Laura and Scott, Katherine and Morrissey, Janis and Elmer, Shandell and Goss, Hannah and Murrin, Celine (2024) Using co-design to develop the Adolescent Health Literacy Questionnaire for adolescents in Ireland. Health Promotion International, 39, (1), https://doi.org/10.1093/heapro/daae009.
External website: https://academic.oup.com/heapro/article/39/1/daae0...
Health literacy measurement studies are important for the success of health promotion efforts targeting adolescents. However, the majority of health literacy measurement tools were originally developed for adult populations and may not be reflective of health literacy in the context of adolescence. The present study sought to co-design a health literacy questionnaire and vignettes for adolescents in Ireland aged 12-18 years. This article describes the qualitative phase of the study. In 2019-2021, eight adolescents from the Irish Heart Foundation's Youth Advisory Panel participated in two concept mapping workshops during which they defined healthy living. Results of the thematic analysis indicated that adolescents defined 'healthy living' as a life that was balanced, prioritizing mental health and sleep. According to their definition, healthy living was comprised of six main constructs, namely, knowledge; sources of quality health information; facilitators and barriers; influence of others; self-efficacy, self-management and resilience; and citizenship and communication. These constructs were used to develop vignettes and items for the Adolescent Health Literacy Questionnaire (AHLQ). These were tested on a sample of 80 adolescents to check whether the respondents understood the items and vignettes as intended. Results of the nine cognitive interviews indicated that the adolescents understood the content of the 10 vignettes and 41 items. While the vignettes and AHLQ were developed with Irish adolescents, the approaches taken can be generalized to adolescents living in other countries. This will allow for the development of tailored and relevant solutions for health literacy development and health promotion for this sub-population.
F Concepts in psychology > State of consciousness (sleep)
G Health and disease > State of health / wellbeing
G Health and disease > State of health / wellbeing > Mental health
J Health care, prevention, harm reduction and treatment > Health related issues > Health information and education
T Demographic characteristics > Adolescent / youth (teenager / young person)
VA Geographic area > Europe > Ireland
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