Abstract:

The concept of health literacy (HL), as described by the World Health Organization, refers to the personal ability to gain access, understand and use information for making judgments and decisions in everyday life regarding receiving help, preventing diseases, and improving the quality of life. As such, health education in schools usually promotes a general ability to comprehend and maintain a healthy lifestyle. However, the outbreak of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) changed the focus of health education, since HL became a matter of national and epidemiological security: hygiene skills, rules of social interaction, daily habits and self-care practices are in the focus of attention.

To what extent is the content of national educational programs and standards relevant in the current situation? How have national education systems adapted to new challenges and promoted health literacy in the pandemic context? We explore the cases of Russia, Ireland, and the UK to find how the subject of HL was integrated into the national curricula and the regulatory documents. In all the cases, health education promotes critical thinking and behaviour skills, that contribute to a safe and healthy lifestyle without chronic diseases. In the UK and Ireland, health education has a strong connection with daily routine practices. In Russia, a healthy lifestyle is a declared value, though it is not specified in practical terms. Yet, the topics of epidemiology and prevention of infectious diseases are often overlooked. All reviewed educational programs revealed the lack of information about epidemy outbreaks, their origins, consequences, and the basic principles of safe behaviour. We search for the recent normative documents, that change the organization of the school environment as a response to the pandemic. As a result, we compare the national curriculums of three countries and reveal how the matters of HL were addressed before the pandemic and what changes were introduced during 2020-2021. Every reviewed country reacted rapidly to ensure the safety of education and to provide strict hygienic control, however national curriculums have yet to be rebuilt to prepare for massive epidemic crises.

Keywords:

Health Literacy, national curriculums, pandemic.