Wallace Ruth, Ruscoe Amelia, Costello Leesa, Kirk Gillian, Sambell Ros, Devine Amanda
School of Medical and Health Science, Edith Cowan University, 270 Joondalup Drive, Joondalup, WA 6027, Australia.
Nutrition and Health Innovation Research Institute (NHIRI), School of Medical and Health Science, Edith Cowan University, 270 Joondalup Drive, Joondalup, WA 6027, Australia.
Health Promot Int. 2025 May 13;40(3). doi: 10.1093/heapro/daaf053.
Building health literacy in early childhood is essential for lifelong health and underpins children's learning and developmental trajectories. This study assessed the efficacy of the Little Aussie Bugs books, designed to enhance health literacy in Australian Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) centres. The books, featuring inclusive characters and key health literacy catchphrases, were distributed to >1200 early learning settings Australia-wide. Exploratory research design used online surveys (n = 110) and in-depth interviews with ECEC teacher participants (n = 8) to determine the compatibility of the books with ECEC contexts and practices to facilitate the delivery of health literacy education. The findings were conceptualized through a socioecological lens, using the process, person, and context over time model. Participants reported high overall satisfaction with the books, alongside increased confidence to deliver health literacy messages. Key advantages included the dialogic nature of the books, children's familiarity with catchphrases and characters, and children's understanding of otherwise abstract concepts, such as 'invisible germs'. However, these benefits were limited for less experienced educators who may not have understood the dialogic nature of the books, subsequently not utilizing them to their full capacity. These limitations indicate the need for further support to accompany the resources and maximize their impact. Further research is planned to inform the design of effective and appropriate professional learning to complement the resources, supporting educators to optimize their use of the books and promoting sustained delivery of health literacy messaging in ECEC settings.
在幼儿期培养健康素养对终身健康至关重要,也是儿童学习和发展轨迹的基础。本研究评估了《澳洲小虫子》系列图书的效果,该系列图书旨在提高澳大利亚幼儿教育与保育(ECEC)中心的健康素养。这些图书以包容性角色和关键健康素养标语为特色,已分发给澳大利亚各地1200多个早期学习机构。探索性研究设计采用在线调查(n = 110)以及对ECEC教师参与者进行深度访谈(n = 8),以确定这些图书与ECEC环境及实践的兼容性,从而促进健康素养教育的开展。研究结果通过社会生态视角进行概念化,采用过程、人及随时间变化的背景模型。参与者对这些图书总体满意度较高,同时在传递健康素养信息方面的信心也有所增强。主要优点包括图书的对话性质、儿童对标语和角色的熟悉程度,以及儿童对诸如“隐形细菌”等抽象概念的理解。然而,对于经验不足的教育工作者来说,这些益处有限,他们可能不理解图书的对话性质,因此未能充分利用这些图书。这些局限性表明需要进一步的支持来配合这些资源,以最大化其影响。计划开展进一步研究,为有效且合适的专业学习设计提供参考,以补充这些资源,支持教育工作者优化图书的使用,并促进在ECEC环境中持续传递健康素养信息。