Positive outcomes of disease awareness information conveyed by high school students to their guardians.

BACKGROUND

This questionnaire-based study aimed to evaluate whether health information conveyed by high school students can encourage their guardians to undergo annual health checks, regardless of their guardians' health literacy (HL) level.

METHODS

After a lecture to students by an internist on lifestyle-related diseases and chronic kidney disease (CKD), we asked their guardians (n = 1,027) if the students had shared information about the lecture with them and their willingness to participate in an annual health check. We also measured guardian HL using a self-administered questionnaire from which an HL score (minimum=1;maximum=5) could be derived.

RESULTS

The median HL score (with interquartile range) of guardians was 3.8 (3.2-4.0). Guardians whose children informed them about CKD were more likely than those who were not informed to plan health checks in the year ahead, regardless of their HL level.

CONCLUSION

Our study demonstrated that the transmission of CKD information from high school students significantly encourages their guardians to schedule health checks, regardless of their HL level.