Building individual and community resilience through Open Education Resources for health literacy education in sub-Saharan Africa

Abstract

Health literacy is the ability of individuals to understand health information and to make informed health decisions. As part of a larger project, we completed a scoping review to consider the question “To what extent does teacher education in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) currently include a focus on health literacy?” In this paper, we specifically address the question, “How might OER support teacher education in health literacy to support individual and community resilience in sub-Saharan Africa?” We examine the extent literature on health literacy, its relevance to teacher education and OER, and how OER can be used to support health literacy education in SSA. A discussion on the ways in which health literacy education in SSA can be fostered through governments and through other partnership is explored.