The COVID-19 infodemic can be countered by scientific evidence, clear and consistent communication, and improved health literacy of both individuals in need of information and those providing it. A rapid online survey was carried out to evaluate vaccine literacy (VL) skills in the general population and perceptions about COVID-19 vaccine candidates, along with behavior and beliefs about current vaccinations. Observed VL levels were consistent with previous observations – where comparable self-reported tools were administered face-to-face and by paper-and-pencil – the mean functional score being = 2.92, while the interactive-critical score was = 3.27, out of a maximum of 4. Perceptions regarding future COVID-19 vaccines, along with beliefs about vaccination, were mostly positive and significantly associated with functional and interactive-critical VL scales. Despite limitations, the study confirms that surveys via the web are a suitable method to evaluate and track attitudes during infectious disease outbreaks and assess health literacy skills about vaccination, which can be useful to adapt medical communication strategies, for a better understanding of the value of immunization.

This systematic review describes the current relationship between health literacy (HL) and vaccination (including attitude to vaccines, intention to vaccinate, and vaccine uptake). The aim is to comprehend the role of HL as a determinant of vaccine hesitancy. For this purpose, the following databases were explored from 1 January 2007 to 15 January 2017: PubMed, Embase, PsycINFO, ERIC, Health Evidence, Centre for Reviews and Dissemination, Scopus, Web of Science, and Cochrane Library. Nine studies were included in the final synthesis. The role of HL in predicting vaccine hesitancy or acceptance seems to be influenced by a few key factors. These include country, age, and type of vaccine. However, the relationship between HL and vaccination remains unclear. New research studies are needed—particularly longitudinal ones that use multiple measurement tools. This would facilitate a better understanding of the role of HL in predicting vaccine uptake.

Existing definitions of food literacy (FL) and nutrition literacy (NL) in particular refer to individual knowledge, motivation, competences, and awareness, which determine the relationship between individuals and food, the food system, and nutrition information. Several authors proposed specific conceptualization of the terms. Nevertheless, the description of analogies and differences between FL and NL is still lacking, as is an integrated framework which highlights the meaning of the concepts. This work aims to describe and discuss evidence provided by the literature in order to develop and propose a comprehensive conceptualization of FL and NL to the scientific community. We systematically reviewed six databases, considering the search terms of FL and NL. We collected the antecedents, components, and consequences of both FL and NL. We underlined and traced similarities of the concepts as well as prerogative features through the content analysis of definitions. We obtained 14 definitions of NL and 12 definitions of FL; 42 papers presented antecedents and 53 papers contained consequences. We observed that NL could be considered a specific form of FL. In addition, we noted that the consequences of NL are included in the subset of the consequences of FL and the conceptual limits of FL correspond to the outcome of healthful diet. We conclude that FL and NL build a multifaceted concept which implies both individual and public perspectives. We propose a conceptualization which could be useful to develop an executive framework aimed at providing healthy eating for the population.

For a number of years now, banks have been going through enormous changes in organization and structure. New technology and new ways of structuring the operation have left their mark on the working conditions and daily lives of employees. Deregulation of labor markets, emerging technologies and new types of jobs have significantly reshaping working lives by continuous changes on employment and working conditions. Such a scenario has a relevant impact not only on companies' organization but also on working population's health. The banking sector is particularly well-deserved of a specific and thorough analysis, in view of the recent increase in psycho-social disorders of employees. This may be related to the major organizational changes affecting this sector and, in particular, to the restructuring processes resulting from the global economic crisis. Our aim is to assess the scale of the phenomenon and how far it relates specifically to the processes of bank organization. With this in mind, through a review of the literature, we selected the main studies dealing with work-related stress in banking, so that we could reach a better understanding of the phenomenon as it relates specifically to this set of workers. The search took place on the MEDLINE® database; in total 20 articles were chosen. There was uniform agreement among the studies that stress in the banking workplace is now at critical levels, and that it can have deleterious psychological effects on workers, and on their physical health, and that organizations, too, are affected. Most studies showed that mental health problems had increased in the banking sector, and that they were stress-related. Examples began with anxiety and depression, carried on through maladaptive behaviors, and ended in job burnout. The reviewed studies' limitations were then discussed, and possible ways forward considered.

BackgroundHealth literacy(HL) has recently been proposed as a potential mediator in the pathway through which socio-economic status(SES) affects health. However, empirical research investigating the contribution of HL in this relationship remains scarce. This study investigated whether functional HL mediates the association between SES and self-reported health(SRH) in an adult population-based sample.MethodsThe study adopted a cross-sectional design. Education level and financial status were used as measures of SES, while functional HL was assessed with the Newest Vital Sign. Moderated mediation analyses were conducted using SES variables as independent variables, SRH as dependent variable and functional HL as mediator variable. Furthermore, age, sex and chronic diseases were tested as moderators of the effect mediated by functional HL.Results452 subjects completed the study (58,8% female; mean age 53,25±11,7). Results showed that functional HL mediates on average 18.5% of the association between education and SRH (p = 0.02) and 12.9% (p = 0.01) of the association between financial status and SRH. Furthermore, the proportion of effect mediated by functional HL was found to be higher in lower socio-economic classes for both SES variables considered. No significant moderation effects of age, sex or chronic diseases were observed for both SES variables.ConclusionFindings suggest that functional HL may serve as a pathway by which SES affects health status, especially in lower SES groups. HL may be a valuable and actionable intermediate target for addressing health inequalities. However, further studies are needed to better define the mediating role of HL across socio-economic classes.