Educational interventions for the adoption of healthy lifestyles and improvement of health literacy: a systematic review

Objectives

Health literacy constitutes an array of skills and knowledge that has the potential to empower one's ability to actively – and effectively - engage in their own health. Educational interventions can play a fundamental role in improving people's health literacy, which is, in turn, associated with the adoption of healthier lifestyles and a significant predictor of positive health outcomes. This study aimed to analyse the effect of educational interventions on both health literacy and the adoption of healthier lifestyles.

Study design

Systematic review.

Methods

The search was performed in PubMed, EMBASE, Scopus and Web of Science in April 2023. The screening was performed by three independent reviewers, following the PRISMA guidelines. All the included articles were critically evaluated through Cochrane's RoB 2 and ROBINS-I quality assessment tools.

Results

11290 records were obtained through database searches, of which 12 studies were found to be eligible as they agreed with the inclusion criteria. These 12 interventions included a total of 3407 participants, (n = 2757 who received the educational interventions, n = 650 belonging to the control groups). While the impact of educational interventions on health literacy was explored in all the included studies, lifestyle variables differed from study to study, ranging from nutrition and to physical activity to mental health, social and environmental well-being, among others.

Conclusions

This review provides evidence supporting the effectiveness and relevance of educational interventions containing interactive strategies, in positively changing health literacy levels, lifestyle behaviors such as diet, physical activity, and other health outcomes.