How can health literacy be improved among elementary school children? Carinthia University of Applied Sciences has some ideas.

Even adults sometimes have a hard time navigating the healthcare system with its myriad points of contact and professional groups. How must this jungle of specialties, institutions, and points of contact seem to children? Whether young or old, the ability to navigate the healthcare system, identify appropriate services, and make meaningful use of health information is crucial for one’s own health. To develop this “navigational health literacy”–as it’s known in technical terms–as effectively as possible, efforts must begin as early as possible. 

Ideally, this should start as early as elementary school, according to Eva Mir. She conducts research at CU Carinthia University of Applied Sciences in the field of health promotion and, as part of the “g’scheid g’sund” program, is leading an innovation project titled “Discovering Health Professions” (in cooperation with the State of Carinthia, Department of Health and Care, funded by the Carinthian Health Fund). “Knowledge of the key figures in the healthcare system is necessary to be able to navigate it. We don’t want to teach children how the system works in detail, but rather that, in addition to medicine and nursing, there are other fields such as speech therapy, occupational therapy, and physical therapy that could be important to them in the future,” says Mir. 

To illustrate this diversity to elementary school children, she and the provincial project manager, Sonja Fidersek, chose a playful approach: Together with a game development agency, they are currently working on an educational game that will introduce children to the various healthcare professions and their roles. In addition, workshops are being developed for third- and fourth-grade students. The goal is for not only the children to learn, but also parents and teachers: “A survey revealed that adults also feel a strong need for information regarding the roles of various professions in the healthcare sector. With this easily accessible information, we hope to reach them as well.” 

Incidentally, involving parents is the second priority of the innovation project, which aims to foster good cooperation between schools and parents. The focus here is on parental involvement in promoting healthy eating in the school environment.