3.H. Scientific session: How do we enable better health outcomes and development in children? A European health literacy lens

Abstract Background This workshop will present empirical findings from five different studies on child and adolescent health literacy, including digital health literacy, family and parental health literacy, and school health literacy conducted in Ireland, Finland, Portugal and Germany: (1) DHL-School; (2), Finland's 2025 Parent Barometer Survey; (3) LifeLab Dublin; (4) BeE-School Portugal; (5) HIB study Germany. Despite growing recognition of the importance of child and adolescent health literacy, research targeting school health literacy remains limited. Schools are still underutilized as research and intervention settings, leaving a significant evidence gap and hindering the development of effective, school-based strategies to enhance health literacy. This is particularly striking given that both the European Commission and WHO, along with most European governments, emphasize schools as critical environments for fostering health literacy from an early age. Workshop objectives The workshop seeks to address this gap by generating actionable, innovative insights to advance health literacy in schools. By equipping schools with evidence-based approaches, we aim to help close the persistent school health literacy gap-ultimately supporting broader public health goals and improving population health outcomes for the next generation. Reflecting on these issues, this session will feature five international speakers presenting empirical findings from studies across Europe: (1) Based on a representative sample of students and teachers, the link between health literacy and digital health literacy will be explored. (2) While public health learning starts at home, but is crucial for school health literacy, the next presenter will dive into family factors and critical health reading abilities of children. Health interventions in school are the cornerstone of healthy child development and following two presentations will focus on the evaluation of the (3) LifeLab Dublin health literacy intervention for post-primary students, a novel programme to improve school health literacy, and (4) the BeE-school intervention for vulnerable schoolchildren to reduce NCD and obesity risk factors. (5) The final study will introduce empirical insights into health literacy learning and online health information behaviour of adolescents based on a representative sample from Germany. Format The session chairs will facilitate and moderate the presentations and guide the panel discussion based on their Section background. While the format of this workshop will be 5x8-minute presentations, the presentations will be followed by a 20-minute panel discussion of the speakers with the audience, exploring the relevance of these findings for public health research, practice and policy. At the same time, the presentations will be supported by the online tool Slido, augmenting and enhancing speaker-audience interaction. This method will facilitate audience engagement and ensure knowledge transfer. Key messages • School-based health literacy research is limited, leaving schools underused for public health interventions despite their recognized importance in fostering lifelong health habits. • The workshop aims to generate actionable insights to help schools close the health literacy gap, ultimately improving public health and population health outcomes for future generations.