Applying the Ottawa Charter to evaluate health literacy outcomes of the Little Aussie Bugs course for Australian early childhood educators

Clicks: 26
ID: 319865
2026
Free PDF
Article Quality & Performance Metrics
Overall Quality
Not rated
Combines reader engagement with the AI quality analysis. This article has not been analysed, so there is no overall score — reader engagement is measured and shown alongside.
AI Quality Assessment
Not analyzed
Readership in this journal
Emerging

Ranked #24 of 38 articles by views in health promotion international

Most read Least read

Bar heights use a square-root scale.

Mint this article as an NFT
Not yet minted

Create a permanent, verifiable on-chain record of this article on the Scimatic Network. The NFT is held in your Journament account, and you can withdraw it to your own wallet at any time.

5 SUSD one-off · no wallet required
Sign in to mint
Abstract
Early childhood offers an important opportunity to lay the foundations for lifelong health literacy. The Little Aussie Bugs (LAB) dialogic book series and online professional development (PD) course were designed to support Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) educators to embed health literacy concepts, including hygiene, healthy eating, and oral health, into everyday learning routines. This mixed methods study evaluated the course pilot and examined its contribution through the lens of the Ottawa Charter for Health Promotion-a framework comprising five interrelated action areas: building healthy public policy; creating supportive environments; strengthening community action; developing personal skills; and reorienting health services. Quantitative findings demonstrated statistically significant improvements in educators' overall health literacy scores and confidence using dialogic reading to deliver health messages. Educators reported enhanced capability to support children's understanding of health behaviors. Qualitative findings revealed educators' experiences embedding learning and LAB resources into daily routines, strengthening their confidence, supporting communications with families, and aligning practice with policy and accreditation expectations. Applying the Charter sharpened research insights into how the intervention developed personal skills and created supportive environments, while also illuminating structural gaps in policy alignment, educator training, and equitable implementation. This evaluation demonstrates how applying the Charter can support analysis of digital, early-years health promotion initiatives and help identify system-level supports for their sustainability. It also shows the course is an accessible and scalable approach to embed health literacy across ECEC settings. Implications for early-years PD and health literacy practice are discussed through the lens of the Charter.
Reference Key
openalex_W7167473393 Use this key to autocite in the manuscript while using SciMatic Manuscript Manager or Thesis Manager
Authors Amelia Ruscoe, Elizabeth Cook, Eleanor K. O’Brien, Leesa Costello, Gillian Kirk, Ros Sambell, Theresa Rayfield, Amanda Devine, Ruth Wallace
Journal health promotion international
Year 2026
DOI
10.1093/heapro/daag087
URL
https://doi.org/10.1093/heapro/daag087
Keywords Keywords not found

Citations

No citations found. To add a citation, contact the admin at info@scimatic.org

Comments

No comments yet. Be the first to comment on this article.