New subject, “watershed towards health literacy”: experts

Laura Poy Solano

Newspaper La Jornada
Saturday January 14, 2023, p. 8

Specialists from the National Institute of Public Health (INSP), who participated in the design of the healthy living subject, which is taught to nearly 25 million preschool, primary and secondary students since the 2020-2021 school year, considered that it is a watershed towards health literacy in basic education in Mexicoby aligning with the global agenda to preserve human and planetary health.

In an article published in the most recent edition of the scientific journal Salud Pública de México, they highlighted that this subject has as its central axes food, physical activity, and hygiene and cleanliness, divided into 30 expected lessons.

As for the current materials and content on health, they highlight that only 28.3 percent met the 13 technical criteria established by the Ministry of Public Education (SEP), so they did not have to adapt; another 63.3 percent, although it was considered adequate, it was necessary to update and strengthen it.

They added that of the 228 materials evaluated, three were selected by the SEP to teach the subject: The adventures of Dulce Clarita, Comprehensive health for almost young people and Until the kilos reach us?, whose contents, language and images were updated, in order to ensure inclusion and eradicate any form of stigma.

Although the INSP experts, who collaborated with specialists from the SEP to design the subject, highlight its advantages, they also recognize that it is not without its challenges.

The article, signed, among others, by researchers Gabriela Argumedo, Carlos Cruz-Covarrubias, and Anabelle Bonvecchio-Arenas, underlines that the effectiveness of a health education curriculum is subject to criteria such as offering student-centered learning experiences , teacher training with personal interest in promoting positive health behaviors and teachers comfortable implementing the course.