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Technical University of Munich

GLOBHL

The Global Health Literacy Research Network (GLOBHL) was launched in March 2020 as the Covid-19 Health Literacy Network (Covid-HL) and represents the first open, international research network to conduct health literacy research in different populations, different settings and in all regions of the world. As such, studies of Covid-HL Network explicitly allow generating evidence on health literacy from different world regions and conducting cross-country comparisons. GLOBHL not only investigates generic health literacy but digital and mental health literacy as well.

GLOBHL was launched by Prof. Dr. Orkan Okan and Prof. Dr. Kevin Dadaczynski (Fulda University of Applied Sciences). The coordination in Germany also includes  founding member Prof. Dr. Melanie Messer (University of Trier). More than 170 researchers, who are affiliated with over 80 institutions in over 70 countries, have become member of GLOBHL. GLOBHL especially supports early career researchers who conduct research side-by-side and equally with experienced senior researchers. The goals of GLOBHL are: 

  • Establishing a global network of research and practice in the field of health literacy, health information, health promotion/prevention
  • Implementing international studies in the above-mentioned areas, including cross-national/comparative evaluations
  • Supporting decision-makers from practice and polity by providin state of the art scientific knowledge

Currently, four studies are being conducting in GLOBHL:

Further studies in health care and nursing as well as in the education sector are planned in 2024.

To learn more about GLOBHL, please visit the project website.

Health literacy and the Covid-19 pandemic

The COVID 19 pandemic has abruptly and significantly increased the amount of health information available on the Internet, and circulating in social media. The pandemic has also significantly increased people's need for information. At the same time, the digital realm and virtual information environments are highly complex and thus increasingly difficult to navigate for people.

People of all ages and demographics face numerous challenges and, increasingly, barriers when trying to find and understand relevant health information concerning themselves or others, to critically reflect health information and when using information to make health decisions.

In this global and unprecedented crisis, reliable and trustworthy information is key to helping people understand recommendations about health and prevention behavior from public health authorities and what they can do, and how, to protect themselves and others from an infection with coronavirus. However, it is also extremely important that information developers and providers (on the Internet, social media, commercial and noncommercial platforms) provide information that is easy to find, easy to access, easy to understand, and easy to use. Health literacy, i.e., the ability to find, understand, assess, and apply health information, is therefore more important than ever for people to navigate digital information environments and use health information to underpin their behavior.

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