SynthesisHealth expectations : an international journal of public participation in health care and health policy2022
Seeking a deeper understanding of 'distributed health literacy': A systematic review.
Synthesis in Health expectations : an international journal of public participation in health care and health policy, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 34 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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Who cites it
34 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- An update on health literacy dimensions: An umbrella review.PloS one · 2025Pooled it
- Seeking a deeper understanding of 'distributed health literacy': A systematic review.Health expectations : an international journal of public participation in health care and health policy · 2022Pooled it
- Association of Parental Health Literacy with Treatment Adherence and Clinical Outcomes in Adolescents with Allergic Rhinitis: A Controlled Longitudinal Study.Journal of clinical medicine · 2026Article
- Compensatory network capital: negative and ambivalent ties in the conversion of health literacy into action.Health promotion international · 2026Article
- Navigating Diabetes Management in the Digital Era: Scoping Review of Online Health Information-Seeking Behavior.Journal of medical Internet research · 2026Article
- Distributed Health Literacy Among People With Intellectual Disability, Their Supporters and Healthcare Professionals: A Scoping Review.Health expectations : an international journal of public participation in health care and health policy · 2026Article
- Exploring stroke awareness in an ethnic minority population: the impact of language and social support.BMC public health · 2026Article
- Exploring adolescents' ability to appraise health information: validation of the self-report short-form Critical Health Literacy Questionnaire.Frontiers in public health · 2026Article
- Reconceptualizing Health Literacy to End Confusions: An Umbrella Review Research.Health science reports · 2026Review
- Health literacy profiles and empowerment strategies for older adults on an offshore island: a community-based study.Frontiers in public health · 2026Article
- Managing complexities of inflammatory rheumatic diseases as a migrant-a qualitative exploration of health literacy experiences.Frontiers in public health · 2026Article
- Examining the relationships between e-health literacy, cyberchondria, health anxiety, and health perception among foreign university students.BMC public health · 2025Article
- Gender Differences in the Relationship Between Health Literacy and Stress Among Caregivers of Older Adults with Dementia.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Co-creating support for adolescents with long-lasting pain: findings from workshops with adolescents, parents, and professionals.BMC health services research · 2025Article
- Health promotion in the algorithmic age: recognizing the information environment as a determinant of health.Health promotion international · 2025Article
- Kidney Disease: Improving Global Outcomes Summit Recommendations on Implementation of Diabetes Management in CKD: From Primary to Data-Driven Collaborative Care.Kidney international reports · 2025Article
- Psychometric properties of the Danish SDM-Q-9 questionnaire for shared decision-making in patients with pelvic floor disorders and low back pain: item response theory modelling.BMC medical informatics and decision making · 2025Article
- Conceptualisation of critical health literacy-insights from Western and East Asian perspectives: a scoping review.BMJ global health · 2025Article
- Impact of functional, communicative, critical and distributed health literacy on self-management behaviors in chronic disease patients across socioeconomic groups.BMC public health · 2025Article
- The role of different health information sources in moderating the impact of health literacy on health-related quality of life: evidence from a population-based study in Korea.Quality of life research : an international journal of quality of life aspects of treatment, care and rehabilitation · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
7 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundPrevious research suggests that it would be useful to view health literacy as a set of 'distributed competencies', which can be found dispersed through the individual's social network, rather than an exclusively individual attribute. However, to date there is no focused exploration of how distributed health literacy has been defined, conceptualized or assessed in the peer-reviewed literature.
aimsThis systematic review aimed to explore: (1) definitions and conceptual models of distributed health literacy that are available from the peer-reviewed literature; and (2) how distributed health literacy has been measured in empirical research.
methodsWe searched MEDLINE, Embase, CINAHL, PsycInfo, Scopus, ERIC and Web of Science using truncated versions of the keywords 'literacy' and 'distributed' (within five words' distance). We collated the definitions and conceptual models of distributed health literacy, and report on how health literacy has been measured in empirical research studies. Findings related to distributed health literacy from included manuscripts were synthesized using thematic synthesis.
resultsOf the 642 studies screened, 10 were included in this systematic review. The majority were empirical manuscripts reporting on qualitative research in one of five countries, with two reviews, one conceptual analysis and one quantitative study. Edwards' definition of distributed health literacy, which emphasizes the health literacy abilities, skills and practices of others that contribute to an individual's level of health literacy was widely applied in a variety of clinical and geographical settings. However, we did not identify any quantitative instruments which directly measured distributed health literacy. There was significant variability in questions used to explore the concept qualitatively, and discrepancies across studies in regard to (a) what constitutes distributed health literacy and what does not (e.g., general social support), and (b) the relationship between distributed health literacy and other constructs (e.g., public health literacy).
conclusionAlthough there is a widely applied definition of distributed health literacy, our review revealed that the research space would benefit from the development of the concept, both theoretically for example via conceptual distinctions between distributed health literacy and other types of social support, and empirically for example through the development of a quantitative measurement instrument. PATIENT OR PUBLIC CONTRIBUTION: This paper is a systematic review and did not involve patients or the public.
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