未就学期におけるヘルスリテラシー向上に関するスコーピングレビュー

抄録

  Health literacy (HL) is a determinant of health, and its improvement has been considered important for health. However, individual HL has been conceptualized as a competence acquired by adults, with a focus on cognitive literacy, based on the ability to read and write. Therefore, the methodology of HL education in the preschool years, before formal literacy learning, has rarely been studied especially in Japan. In this study, we conducted a scoping review of the content of interventions to improve HL in preschool, to provide data for studying the methodology of HL education in the preschool period. A literature search was conducted in September 2023 using PubMed and Ichushi-Web, based on the JBI Manual for Evidence Synthesis. Original research articles published in English or Japanese were included as eligible studies, and 42 articles were retrieved. The findings were as follows: interventions are mostly targeted adults such as parents and teachers, and there are still few reports of interventions for preschool children; interventions through active learning are successful in nutrition-specific practices in HL; and the initiatives were required to reflect the cultural and social backgrounds of the targeted subjects. The HL structure of preschool children, whose cognitive abilities are still developing, has not been clarified and there are no comprehensive measurement scales applicable to a wide range of literacy skills. We found that there is a need in Japan to address the framework and evaluation of health education in programs aimed at children themselves and at their parents from the preschooler's perspective.