Over half of all Australian adults have low health literacy, which can impact decision making about children in their care. By improving levels of community health literacy, this project will help keep children and young people well and prevent them from needing hospital care.

The Royal Children’s Hospital (RCH) Health Literacy Project will address this issue by elevating the voice of the child and combining two successful health communication initiatives (the RCH National Child Health Poll [RCH Poll] and RCH Kids Health Info [KHI]) through directly engaging with children and young people, as well as parents and carers.

Through understanding children and young people’s perspectives, this project aims to increase community health literacy, helping to keep them well, and out of hospital. The project will develop and launch youth-focused health information to live on the RCH website, including fact sheets and other digital resources, and establish a youth-focused social media channel.

“The RCH Health Literacy Project is all about sharing our expertise and knowledge with the broader community in an accessible and practical way – to empower children, young people and their parents to make informed decisions about their health and wellbeing.”

Clinician Anthea Rhodes, Paediatrician, Director RCH Poll

As young people are increasingly consuming health information via online platforms and social media, this project aims to combat misinformation in a space where influencers lead content creation at a rate of 24:1 when compared to reputable sources.

“This project enables the RCH to play a role in the lives of children and families across Victoria and beyond, not just those who we care for directly in the hospital. The support of the Good Friday Appeal will enable us to lead the way in advocacy and improved health literacy across the community and empower young people to take a more active role in their own healthcare.”, said Dr Anthea Rhodes.