Health literacy as a social vaccine in the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

Summary The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is a novel virus in the coronavirus family, causing the coronavirus disease (COVID-19). Biomedical vaccines are key but alongside biomedical vaccines, a social vaccine can be similarly useful to prevent infection from SARS-CoV-2, if applied as a health promotion strategy. In order to slow down and control the spread of SARS-CoV-2, applying the social vaccine concept should be considered in parallel. From a health promotion perspective, a social vaccine is a process of social and political mobilization driven by governmental and non-governmental organizations aiming at populations by applying interventions such as health communication, education and mass media campaigns as well as determinant-based programs to address environmental factors influencing personal behavior and community capacities to cope with and overcome the societal burdens of COVID-19. In this context, health literacy is significant, as seen in the role it plays in empowering citizens during the COVID-19 pandemic and enabling them to deal with health information considering COVID-19. As a public health strategy, health literacy as a social vaccine will enable individuals and communities to mitigate the spread of the virus by understanding and applying information as provided through governments and health authorities. The aim of this article is to explore health literacy as a promising social vaccine and opportunity to utilize social vaccination and thus be considered as a key public health approach—both bottom-up and top-down—to support the combat of COVID-19 and future states of emergency.

Digital Health Literacy and Information-Seeking Behavior among University College Students during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Cross-Sectional Study from Denmark

“…Our cross-sectional Danish study is a contribution to the ongoing international studies on university students’ DHL [ 21 , 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 ] and the findings from this study provide new knowledge about the vulnerability of students in crisis situations, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, when high DHL is necessary. This knowledge can inform the designers of interventions aiming at strengthening DHL as a social vaccine [ 7 ] to avoid the further spread of COVID-19 among students.…”

“…At the same time, it is paramount that governments and health authorities implement a well-reasoned and evidence-informed health communication strategy to provide valid and reliable health information concerning the COVID-19 pandemic and support individuals to make health-promoting decisions [ 5 , 6 ]. In this context, health literacy must be understood as a social vaccine, a critical tool in the emergency toolbox of public health action to counteract the effects of the pandemic [ 5 , 7 ].…”

The Roles of Health and e-Health Literacy, Conspiracy Beliefs and Political Sympathy in the Adherence to Preventive Measures Recommended during the Pandemic

“…In 2021, Araujo et al called HL a weapon against the virus [ 31 ]. Recently, Okan et al have even used the term ‘social vaccine’ in relation to HL in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic [ 32 ]. Indeed, many authors of the subsequent studies confirmed a significant association between HL and attitudes and knowledge about preventive measures during the COVID-19 pandemic [ 33 , 34 , 35 , 36 ] or compliance with preventive measures [ 35 , 37 , 38 , 39 , 40 ] in various populations.…”

Health Literacy, Equity, and Communication in the COVID-19 Era of Misinformation: Emergence of Health Information Professionals in Infodemic Management

“…Researchers in the field of health literacy have argued that health literacy has been vastly undervalued and unrecognized in the fight against COVID-19 [ 1 ] and ought to be considered the quintessential “social vaccine” for preventing COVID-19 in populations [ 2 ]. Indeed, as an essential self-management skill and community resource for health, the effects of low population health literacy are likely to be much more pronounced under the current infodemic, in which volumes of disparate quality information are rapidly being disseminated through mediums of public communication, consumption, and information sharing.…”