Internal pathway in Health Literacy among Chinese elementary school students: Serial Mediation Model Analysis

The improvement of children’s health literacy is crucial for their physical and mental health development, and exploring the internal pathway of health literacy by age group is essential for improving the health literacy level at different age stages. We explored internal pathways within health literacy among elementary school students at different grade levels, utilizing a mediated effects model. A total of 3325 Chinese elementary students participated in a cross-sectional study between January to July 2023 using Health Literacy Questionnaire. IBM SPSS V.27 was used for descriptive statistics and correlation analysis of all variables. PROCESS SPSS was used to analyze chain-mediated effects. In grades 1-2, health motivation correlated with health participation through two paths: the mediating role of health skill, and the serial mediating roles of health knowledge and skill, presenting a partial mediating effect. In grades 3-4, health knowledge correlated with health participation through two paths: the mediating role of health motivation, and the mediating role of health skill, presenting a partial mediating effect. In grades 5-6, health knowledge correlated with health participation through one path: the mediating role of health motivation, presenting a total mediating effect. Our study suggests that elementary school students at different grade levels have different ways of improving health literacy because of the different pathways within health literacy. This provides new ideas for health education among children.