Health literacy in a social context: A meta-narrative review

Abstract

[...]We previously examined the intersection of health literacy and social context in a systematic literature review of quantitative empirical research (Sentell et al, 2017). Other reviews on health literacy within a social context have had a similarly narrow scope. A review by Lee et al (2004) set a research agenda for improved understanding of the relationships between health literacy, social support and health outcomes. A 2015 review considered health literacy measurement at the population level, finding little measurement of social context (Guzys et al, 2015). Two reviews considered caregiver/family literacy in cancer-focused communication, noting that an individual’s caregiver or family is relevant to health outcomes (Bevan and Pecchioni, 2008; Sparks and Nussbaum, 2008). These reviews concluded that social context is important to health literacy, but understudied.