Relationship between parents' health literacy and child health: systematic review

Abstract

Purpose

Parents' health literacy is an important element to ensure the sound health of children. One of the major purposes of this study was to systematically collect and review the literature that identified the relationship between two variables: parents' health literacy and their child's health.

Design/methodology/approach

To meet the purpose, the authors searched four well-reputed research databases such as Web of Science, Scopus, Google Scholar and LISTA (Library, Information Science and Technology Abstracts) comprehensively to collect the relevant research on the topic. Except for books, various types of content from different years were used for this review. The investigators used Preferred Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analysis guidelines to select eligible studies for this review. The authors also assessed the quality of the reviewed research in the light of well-reputed quality guidelines shared by Boynton and Greenhalgh (2004).

Findings

The majority of the reviewed studies found a statistically significant relationship between parents' health literacy and the health of their children. Findings also identified that the majority of the reviewed literature scored from 9 to 12 on the quality assessment criteria. Results also highlighted that the majority of the reviewed research on parents' health literacy and child health has been conducted in the USA and utilized quantitative methods to conduct research on the topic under this study.

Research limitations/implications

This systematic review has multiple theoretical and practical implications for parents, policymakers and researchers.

Originality/value

This is the first systematically collected and reviewed paper on the relationship between parents' health literacy and child health.

Citation

Batool, S.H., Safdar, M. and Eman, S. (2024), "Relationship between parents' health literacy and child health: systematic review", Library Hi Tech, Vol. 42 No. 1, pp. 131-148. https://doi.org/10.1108/LHT-11-2021-0398