Parental Health Literacy as a Determinant of Parenting Practices and Early Childhood Health Outcomes: A Systematic Review

Objectives: Parental health literacy plays a pivotal role in shaping caregiving practices and influencing their children’s health. The aim of this systematic review is to analyze studies examining health literacy among parents raising children under five, in relation to caregiving practices and children’s health outcomes. Methods: The research was conducted in accordance with PRISMA protocol. The sample of the study was determined by using the terms related to “health literacy” AND “parent” (OR “caregiver” OR “mother” OR “father”) AND “child” AND “measure” (OR “instrument” OR “tool” OR “questionnaire” OR “survey” OR “interview”) in ERIC, PUBMED, Scopus and WOS databases published between 2015 and 2024. Results: Of the 1726 results identified, 18 studies met the inclusion criteria. The reviewed studies on parental health literacy place particular emphasis on oral health literacy, nutrition/food literacy, vaccine literacy, and fever literacy. Conclusions: Based on the included studies, parents’ health literacy is generally found to be significantly associated with the adequate fulfilment of children’s care needs, the implementation of appropriate parenting practices, and the effective management of childhood illnesses (although findings regarding vaccination willingness are inconsistent). Overall, these associations may carry long-term implications for children’s health.