The Assistant Professorship of Health Literacy was newly established in November 2021 as a W2 Tenure Track Professorship at the Department of Sport and Health Sciences at Technical University Munich. It works internationally and is based on interdisciplinary research. As its Head, Prof. Dr. Orkan Okan is currently setting up the assistant professorship and its activties.
Health literacy research at the assistant professorship is informed by interdisciplinary research, including basic and applied research, and drawing on educational science, public health, psychology, and social sciences. Based on a life-course perspective, the primary target groups comprise children, adolescents and families, with a particular focus on schools, education and socialization (i.e. as seen in the HLCA-Consortium). Where necessary, research will also include various adult populations as seen in the HL-Covid and HLS-Covid-19 projects. Health literacy in the education sector and schools represents a rather new field of research. Besides targeting the health literacy of school-aged children, the assistant professorship also focuses on digital and media literacy of children, on health literacy of teachers and principals as well as on health literacy within the school environment (i.e. as seen in the HeLit-Schools project, the Covid-HL School project and the Alliance for Health Literacy in Schools). Health and education policy research are important for health literacy in childhood and adolescence and therefore constitue vital research areas of the assistant professorship, as seen in the PMOpolicy project.
The main objectives will be (a) promoting interdisciplinary health literacy research, (b) advancing the science of health literacy, (c) establishing health literacy as an important topic of school health promotion and health education, and (d) generating evidence in order to inform science-to-practice and science-to-policy transfer. These topics will be addressed in particular by young researchers, which is why (e) the promotion of young scientists is another important goal of the research program of the Assistant Professorship of Health Literacy. The research programme will be comprised of the following pillars and research streams:
- Theory, concept, and method development,
- Development, implementation, and evaluation of interventions,
- Longitudinal research and life-course approaches.
Methodologically, research comprises qualitative methods, quantitative methods, and mixed methods, including interviews, surveys, network analysis, evaluation research, and policy analysis. Health literacy will be embedded into theories of health promotion, prevention and health communication. A significant focus will be on digitalisation and digital transformation and how they influence health. Cross-cutting topics, which can include but are not limited to equity, diversity, and inclusion, will frame research activities. Cross-cutting issues will be drawn upon where deemed necessary and applicable to a specific research project. Researching health literacy will include several dimensions of the concept, including digital health literacy, mental health literacy as well as nutrition literacy, physical activity literacy, social media literacy, and critical health literacy.
The research programme will be complemented by capacity building, research collaboration, networking, and fostering international alignment that will underpin the scientific work.