Critical health literacy: A review and critical analysis
Abstract
Though there has been a considerable expansion of interest in the health literacy concept worldwide, there has also been criticism that this concept has been poorly defined, that it stretches the idea of "literacy" to an indefensible extent and more specifically, that it adds little to the existing concerns and intervention approaches of the better established discipline of health promotion. This paper takes as a starting point the expanded model of health literacy advanced by Nutbeam (2000) and addresses these concerns by interrogating the concept of "critical health literacy" in order to draw conclusions about its utility for advancing the health of individuals and communities. The constituent domains of critical health literacy are identified; namely information appraisal, understanding the social determinants of health, and collective action, and as far as possible each are clearly delineated, with links to related concepts made explicit. The paper concludes that an appreciation of work undertaken in a range of different disciplines, such as media studies, medical sociology, and evidence-based medicine can enhance our understanding of the critical health literacy construct and help us understand its usefulness as a social asset which helps individuals towards a critical engagement with health information. There is some evidence that aspects of critical health literacy have indeed been found to be a resource for better health outcomes, but more research is needed in this area, both to develop quantitative and qualitative approaches to evaluating health literacy skills, and to offer convincing evidence that investment in programmes designed to enhance critical health literacy are worthwhile.
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Unsupported use of a Web-based intervention requires a fairly high degree of motivation and critical health literacy on the part of the user.
“it seems likely that unsupported use of a Web-based intervention requires a fairly high degree of motivation and critical health literacy [61] on the part of the user.”
From Web-Based Interventions for Behavior Change and Self-Management: Potential, Pitfalls, and Progress (2012) · cites this paper as [61]
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- Authors
- Chinn, D.
- Affiliations
- King's College London (GB)
- Corresponding author
- Chinn, Deborah
- ORCID
- Chinn, Deborah
- Venue
- Social Science & Medicine
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2011-07
- Volume
- 73
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 60-67
- ISSN
- 0277-9536 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W2081960713
- Cited by
- 471
- References
- 94
- Citations by year
- 2026: 28 · 2025: 28 · 2024: 30 · 2023: 40 · 2022: 38 · 2021: 48 · 2020: 40 · 2019: 35 · 2018: 35 · 2017: 34 · 2016: 25 · 2015: 27 · 2014: 23 · 2013: 17 · 2012: 19
- FWCI
- 36.87
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Social Science & Medicine (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- RePEc: Research Papers in Economics (submittedVersion)
- Research Portal (King's College London) (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- Tower Hamlets Primary Care Trust Research and Development Committee
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Health Professions › General Health Professions › Health Literacy and Information Accessibility
- Health Sciences › Health Professions › General Health Professions › Patient-Provider Communication in Healthcare
- Social Sciences › Arts and Humanities › Literature and Literary Theory › Literacy, Media, and Education
- Keywords
- critical health literacy, health literacy, information evaluation, social determinants of health, collective action, health promotion, health information, health literacy interventions
- MeSH terms
- Health Promotion, Humans, Health Status Disparities, Consumer Health Information, Health Literacy
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