Promoting health equity through health literacy interventions in educational institutions: a scoping review

Disparities in health outcomes have been associated with inequitable access to health literacy and services. Additionally, reduced health literacy may lead to an unhealthy lifestyle, causing a decrease in quality of life and social inequities. Advancing health literacy is vital in educational organizations to curb gaps in social inequities. Adapting strategies to promote health literacy is essential for advancing equitable and effective educational organizations. Therefore, policies and interventions should aim to address any barriers that threaten inequities in the educational organization.

This scoping review aims to explore how advancing health literacy strategies within the school organization can promote health equity.

A scoping review of current literature was conducted using Arksey and O'Malley's framework and reported using the PRISMA-ScR (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews). Articles were identified using ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), PUBMED (Medical Literature Analysis and Retrieval System Online), EMBASE (Excerpta Medica Database), CINAHL Plus (Cumulative Index of Nursing and Allied Health Literature), and ProQuest Education Database. Included articles were restricted to the English language and the last twelve years to capture the most recent literature.

Thirty-seven interventions to advance health literacy in educational settings were identified, with most published between 2020 and 2025 (28/37). Twenty-nine targeted elementary to secondary school students, while fewer focused on teachers, counselors, school personnel, or university students. Most were individual-level interventions aimed at improving student health literacy, while organizational approaches emphasized staff development and whole-school practices. Strategies included peer-led programs, curriculum-embedded teacher-led interventions, digital tools, staff-focused training, and whole-school models. Mental health literacy predominated, though oral health, infectious disease, pain, emergency preparedness, and WaSH literacy were also addressed. All studies reported improved health literacy-related outcomes.

Evidence indicates that educational institutions may advance health literacy through curriculum-based, digital, peer-led, and whole-organization strategies. Integrating these approaches into policies and practice may promote equity, improve student and staff outcomes, and position schools and universities as important settings for health promotion and future intervention research.