Adolescent Health Literacy and Learning

Adolescent Health Literacy and Learning offers insights to all those who care about promoting and assisting adolescent health development: health education teachers, health practitioners, and youth care workers. Adolescent health is of worldwide concern, especially as we learn that health habits and attitudes established in adolescence continue into adulthood. For example, chronic diseases such as diabetes that began in mid to late adulthood are becoming more prevalent in younger ages. Academics, clinicians and teachers are searching for ways to raise the health literacy and health outcomes of adolescents to better prepare them for the future. There is a need to raise the profile of adolescent health literacy and learning in order to address issues in adolescent and adult health. This edited volume features expert Canadian health literacy scholars writing on topics such as digital technology, software applications to health promotion, advertising, gender, suicide, nutrition, fitness, and mental health specifically for adolescents. It contains theoretical and practical ideas as well as resources for practitioners and educators to assist adolescents with interacting more critically with health information. The hope is that this book will help young people grow into adults who are more health literate. All contributing authors are experts in adolescent health literacy. Many take a uniquely Canadian perspective as well. They all acknowledge the impact of a variety of individuals and groups on adolescents, but also encourage the development of an adolescent's sense of individual identity, critical thinking, social responsibility and even activism as part of their health literacy.