HEALTH INFORMATION LITERACY FOR STUDENTS
A PROPOSAL
Keywords:
information literacy, health information literacy, professional competencies, librarianAbstract
When dealing with health-related information, it is essential that individuals be able to access, understand, evaluate, and use information and services in this field; this capability is known as health literacy. To promote this ability, information professionals must be aware of users’ needs and possess the competencies, skills, and attitudes necessary to meet these demands. This study aimed to map the competencies, skills, and attitudes required of school librarians to promote health literacy and, based on this mapping, to propose a correspondence matrix linking librarians’ professional competencies to the health literacy competencies to be developed by students. This qualitative, exploratory, and descriptive study was conducted through a scoping review. Based on the findings, a correspondence matrix was developed to relate school librarians’ competencies to health information literacy competencies that may be developed by students. It is concluded that librarians’ professional practice has the potential to contribute to developing more autonomous users who are better able to use information consciously and critically.