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Peer-reviewedCC BY 4.0Frontiers in Public Health

Parental health literacy and multidimensional health education competencies in preschool children

  • Hasan Uğur Serdaroğlu1
  • Gonca Kurt2
  1. 1Department of Child Care and Youth Services, Pazar Vocational School of Higher Education, Tokat Gaziosmanpaşa University
  2. 2Department of Health Care Services, Pazar Vocational School of Higher Education, Tokat Gaziosmanpaşa University
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Abstract

Objective: Although parental health literacy is regarded as correlated with the health-related learning environment of preschool children, evidence addressing children’s health education in a multidimensional manner remains limited. Thus, the aim of this study was to examine the relationship between parental health literacy and the parent-reported overall health education score and its subdimensions among preschool children—after controlling for child-, parent-, and family-related characteristics—as well as the incremental explanatory contribution of parental health literacy beyond these characteristics.

Method: This cross-sectional study was conducted in 2024 with 407 parents of 5 and 6-year-old children enrolled in preschools in Tokat, Türkiye. Data were collected using the Health Literacy Scale—Short Form, the Parent-Reported Health Education Scale for Preschool Children, and the Sociodemographic and Health Information Form. Child-, parent-, and family-related characteristics, as well as parental health literacy, were included in hierarchical multiple linear regression models, respectively. The overall health education score and its six subscales were analyzed separately. The Benjamini-Hochberg correction was applied to the p -values for parental health literacy in the subscale models.

Results: The final model explained 39.5% of the variance in the overall health education score. Including parental health literacy in the model contributed an additional 4.1% to the explained variance (Δ R ² = 0.041; p < 0.001), and a higher level of parental health literacy correlated with higher overall scores in health education ( B = 0.012; β = 0.215; 95% CI: 0.008–0.017). Following the Benjamini-Hochberg correction, parental health literacy remained significantly associated with higher scores on the subscales of personal safety and first aid, hygiene and self-care, nutrition, mental health and social relationships, and neglect and abuse; however, no significant relationship was found for the sleep subscale.

Conclusion: Higher parental health literacy was found to be linked with higher overall health education scores among preschool children and higher scores in five of the six domains, after controlling for child, parent, and family characteristics. The findings suggest that parental health literacy could be a valuable element to consider in family-centered early childhood health promotion and preventive health education approaches.

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Cite

BibTeXRIS
BibTeX
@article{serdaroglu2026parental,
  title = {{Parental health literacy and multidimensional health education competencies in preschool children}},
  author = {Hasan Uğur Serdaroğlu and Gonca Kurt},
  journal = {Frontiers in Public Health},
  year = {2026},
  month = oct,
  doi = {10.3389/fpubh.2026.1984037},
  url = {https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2026.1984037/full},
  note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY  - JOUR
TI  - Parental health literacy and multidimensional health education competencies in preschool children
AU  - Hasan Uğur Serdaroğlu
AU  - Gonca Kurt
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/10/29
JO  - Frontiers in Public Health
DO  - 10.3389/fpubh.2026.1984037
UR  - https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2026.1984037/full
AB  - Objective: Although parental health literacy is regarded as correlated with the health-related learning environment of preschool children, evidence addressing children’s health education in a multidimensional manner remains limited. Thus, the aim of this study was to examine the relationship between parental health literacy and the parent-reported overall health education score and its subdimensions among preschool children—after controlling for child-, parent-, and family-related characteristics—as well as the incremental explanatory contribution of parental health literacy beyond these characteristics.  Method: This cross-sectional study was conducted in 2024 with 407 parents of 5 and 6-year-old children enrolled in preschools in Tokat, Türkiye. Data were collected using the Health Literacy Scale—Short Form, the Parent-Reported Health Education Scale for Preschool Children, and the Sociodemographic and Health Information Form. Child-, parent-, and family-related characteristics, as well as parental health literacy, were included in hierarchical multiple linear regression models, respectively. The overall health education score and its six subscales were analyzed separately. The Benjamini-Hochberg correction was applied to the p -values for parental health literacy in the subscale models.  Results: The final model explained 39.5% of the variance in the overall health education score. Including parental health literacy in the model contributed an additional 4.1% to the explained variance (Δ R ² = 0.041; p < 0.001), and a higher level of parental health literacy correlated with higher overall scores in health education ( B = 0.012; β = 0.215; 95% CI: 0.008–0.017). Following the Benjamini-Hochberg correction, parental health literacy remained significantly associated with higher scores on the subscales of personal safety and first aid, hygiene and self-care, nutrition, mental health and social relationships, and neglect and abuse; however, no significant relationship was found for the sleep subscale.  Conclusion: Higher parental health literacy was found to be linked with higher overall health education scores among preschool children and higher scores in five of the six domains, after controlling for child, parent, and family characteristics. The findings suggest that parental health literacy could be a valuable element to consider in family-centered early childhood health promotion and preventive health education approaches.
SN  - 2296-2565
ER  -