K-12 Health Education, Health Communication, and Health Literacy: Strategies to Improve Lifelong Health (original) (raw)

To promote a health literate K-12 population, this chapter focuses on intersections of Health Literacy (HL), Health Education (HE) and Health Communication (HC) and urges collaborations among professionals from these disciplines as well as with stakeholders who share their interests and concerns. Core definitions and evolutionary highlights of these disciplines are presented, as well as their intersection and promise of impact on student academic and health outcomes. . The Whole School, Whole Community, Whole Child (WSCC) model is used as an example of a framework embraced by education and health experts to help students become health literate. Internal and external stakeholders, models of what works, resources and strategies for developing or strengthening school health and health communication practice are presented. Selected contemporary threats to the social and emotional health and safety of youth are reviewed; as are successful, evidencebased, collaborative HE, HC, and HL programs and strategies. Finally, recommendations for future research and strategic actions in combining HE and HC for HL are discussed to empower, build resilience, and improve the lifelong health of children and adolescents as they become adults. 400 threats that affect K-12 students. The chapter provides selected evidence-based resources and a description of four programs with positive outcomes. Based on their review of the literature, the authors recommend research opportunities and identify gaps. The chapter's authors provide a framework for establishing effective collaborations. The chapter's authors suggest immediate, intermediate, and long-term goals and discuss strategies for social justice moving forward. After indicating uses for the chapter, the chapter's authors conclude with a call-to-action for collaboration across HE, HL, and HC.