Abstract
This qualitative study explores the phenomenon of health literacy education in high schools. This was investigated through interviews with students who have undergone formal training, which includes biology, health, and physical education courses, and the teachers who instruct those courses, to elevate the participants' voices to understand this phenomenon better. Listening and centering students' voices is not well covered in the literature, and these interviews were contextualized through the inclusion of educators.
The author illuminated a phenomenon where, for the participants in the study, health literacy education is possible within the schools but out of reach for most students, locked behind advanced courses or programs. Participants identified that experiences with healthcare providers as a crucial source of health literacy education, and not all students have access to this source of learning. Educator participants echoed the student voices and explained a lack of organizational support, but students have a critical health literacy capacity. The author found a need for further investigation into the issues of students who opted out of their health education. Thus, the author has found that for the participants, health literacy is structurally unequal and ineffective for the students.