Health Promotion, Health Behaviors, and Preventive Care: Multi-Level Educational Approaches

A special issue of Healthcare (ISSN 2227-9032). This special issue belongs to the section "Public Health and Preventive Medicine".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 16 November 2026 | Viewed by 4110

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Clinical Epidemiology Laboratory, Faculty of Nursing, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 11527 Athens, Greece
Interests: research methodology; artificial intelligence; economic evaluation; mental health
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Health education is a cornerstone in strengthening health systems; it empowers communities and helps to improve population health. Evidence-based health education interventions are critical to achieve advances in population health by promoting “health literacy” (informed decision making), preventive behaviors, and high-quality care across diverse settings. Special attention should be given to the impact of misinformation and fake news on health attitudes, since these issues are becoming increasingly prevalent and affect individuals’ decisions. We are pleased to invite you to participate with your work for this Special Issue on “Health Education”, which seeks to advance scientific evidence and provide original research in this vital area.

This Special Issue seeks to bring together quality research on the development, implementation, evaluation, and impact of health education interventions in clinical, community, and public health settings. The emphasis is consistent with the journal’s scope of interdisciplinary, patient-centered, and system-based perspectives that are intended to impact practice, policy, and training in healthcare.

In this Special Issue, original research articles and reviews are welcome. Research areas may include (but are not limited to) the following:

  • Health literacy and patient education.
  • Digital and e-health education tools.
  • Health promotion and disease-prevention programs.
  • Educational strategies for healthcare professionals.
  • Culturally adapted health education approaches.
  • Evaluation of educational interventions and outcomes.
  • The impact of misinformation and fake news on health attitudes and health literacy.

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Dr. Olympia Konstantakopoulou
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • health education
  • health literacy
  • patient education
  • health promotion
  • digital health
  • e-health
  • healthcare training
  • educational interventions
  • preventive care
  • community health

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

14 pages, 240 KB  
Article
Authoritative Parenting Is Associated with Healthier Lifestyle Patterns in University Students
by Maja Strauss, Barbara Cussigh and Leona Cilar Budler
Healthcare 2026, 14(11), 1521; https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare14111521 - 30 May 2026
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Abstract
Background: Health-promoting lifestyle behaviors established during young adulthood play a crucial role in shaping long-term physical and mental health outcomes, including the risk of chronic disease, psychological well-being, and quality of life. Parenting styles represent an important psychosocial factor that may be associated [...] Read more.
Background: Health-promoting lifestyle behaviors established during young adulthood play a crucial role in shaping long-term physical and mental health outcomes, including the risk of chronic disease, psychological well-being, and quality of life. Parenting styles represent an important psychosocial factor that may be associated with health-related behaviors; however, evidence regarding their association with multidimensional health-promoting lifestyles among university students remains limited. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 700 university students. Parenting styles (authoritative, authoritarian, and permissive) were assessed using validated self-report measures. Health-promoting lifestyle behaviors were measured with the Health-Promoting Lifestyle Profile II (HPLP II), including six subscales: Health Responsibility, Physical Activity, Nutrition, Spiritual Growth, Interpersonal Relations, and Stress Management, as well as the overall HPLP II score. Multiple linear regression analyses were performed to examine associations between parenting styles and each HPLP II subscale and the total score. Results: All regression models were statistically significant (p < 0.001), explaining between 5.2% and 13.5% of variance across HPLP II subscales and 11.8% of variance in the total score. Authoritative parenting was significantly positively associated all health-promoting lifestyle domains (β = 0.22–0.33, p < 0.001), including physical activity, interpersonal relations, stress management, and overall health-promoting lifestyle. Permissive parenting was negatively associated with several domains, particularly physical activity, interpersonal relations, stress management, and the total HPLP II score (β = −0.07 to −0.12, p < 0.05). Authoritarian parenting showed weaker and more selective negative associations, most notably with nutrition and stress management. Conclusions: Parenting styles are significantly associated with health-promoting lifestyle behaviors among university students. Authoritative parenting was consistently associated with more favorable health-promoting lifestyle patterns across multiple domains, whereas permissive and authoritarian parenting may be linked to less favorable health behaviors. These findings suggest that perceived parenting styles are associated with health-related behaviors among university students. Full article
18 pages, 779 KB  
Article
Effect of Breast Cancer Awareness Training on Screening Beliefs and Behaviour Among Women Living in Rural Areas of Türkiye: A Quasi-Experimental Study
by Gökhan İşçi, Zeliha Yelda Özer, Burak Mete, Çağla Okyar and Hakan Demirhindi
Healthcare 2026, 14(4), 531; https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare14040531 - 20 Feb 2026
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Abstract
Background/Objectives: This study aimed to evaluate the effect of breast cancer awareness training on screening beliefs and behaviour. Methods: This single-group pre-test/post-test quasi-experimental study included 286 women living in rural areas. The effectiveness of the educational intervention was evaluated via the Breast Cancer [...] Read more.
Background/Objectives: This study aimed to evaluate the effect of breast cancer awareness training on screening beliefs and behaviour. Methods: This single-group pre-test/post-test quasi-experimental study included 286 women living in rural areas. The effectiveness of the educational intervention was evaluated via the Breast Cancer Screening Beliefs Scale (BCSBS). Screening behaviours were assessed using self-reported data collected via a structured questionnaire administered before the intervention. Results: The mean age of the participants was 58.3 ± 8.3 years (range 43–69). Post-test results showed a significant increase in the total BCSBS score and all sub-dimensions, including attitudes towards health screenings, breast cancer knowledge and perceptions, and barriers to mammography screening (p < 0.001). The educational intervention had a medium effect on screening beliefs with an effect size (ES) of 0.585, small effects on attitudes towards health screenings (ES = 0.124) and barriers to mammography screening (ES = 0.286), and a large effect on breast cancer knowledge and perceptions (ES = 0.710). Following the educational intervention, the proportion of women with positive screening beliefs increased from 13% to 36% (p < 0.001), positive breast cancer knowledge and perceptions increased from 49% to 69% (p < 0.001), and positive attitudes towards health screenings decreased from 14% to 8% (p = 0.002). Each one-unit increase in breast cancer knowledge and perceptions increased the likelihood of screening by an odds ratio (OR) of 1.02, and each one-unit increase in barriers to mammography screening increased it by an OR of 1.03. Moreover, barriers to mammography screening significantly moderated the relationship between age and breast cancer screening behaviour, strengthening this association. Conclusions: The Turkish Ministry of Health’s education model for breast cancer awareness appears to positively influence beliefs about breast cancer screening. Updating and diversifying educational content to target specific age groups and rural women may enhance its effectiveness. Full article
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14 pages, 274 KB  
Article
Online Health Misinformation Susceptibility Increases Health Risk Behaviors and Vaccine Hesitancy: Evidence from Greece
by Ioannis Moisoglou, Aglaia Katsiroumpa, Olympia Konstantakopoulou, Aris Yfantis, Olga Galani, Maria Tsiachri, Panagiota Peleka, Zoe Katsiroumpa and Petros Galanis
Healthcare 2026, 14(4), 425; https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare14040425 - 8 Feb 2026
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Abstract
Background: Health-related misinformation is a pervasive phenomenon that expanded substantially during the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly regarding concerns about vaccine safety and effectiveness. Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the impact of online health misinformation susceptibility on health behaviors [...] Read more.
Background: Health-related misinformation is a pervasive phenomenon that expanded substantially during the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly regarding concerns about vaccine safety and effectiveness. Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the impact of online health misinformation susceptibility on health behaviors and vaccine hesitancy. Methods: A cross-sectional study with a convenience sample of 402 individuals was conducted in Greece, with data collected via an online survey during September 2025. We used the Health-Related Online Misinformation Susceptibility Scale to measure online health misinformation susceptibility. The Health Behavior Inventory–Short Form was used to measure health behaviors, while the Vaccine Hesitancy Scale (VHS) was used to measure participants’ hesitancy towards vaccination. We performed multivariable analysis to identify the independent effect of health misinformation after adjustment for several confounders. Results: Multivariable linear regression analysis showed a positive association between online health misinformation susceptibility and diet score (adjusted coefficient beta = 0.026; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.006 to 0.046; p = 0.010) and anger and stress score (adjusted coefficient beta = 0.033; 95% CI = 0.013 to 0.052; p = 0.001). After adjustment for confounders, we found a positive association between online health misinformation susceptibility and score on the factors “lack of confidence” (adjusted coefficient beta = 0.016; 95% CI = 0.005 to 0.028; p = 0.006) and “risk perception” (adjusted coefficient beta = 0.023; 95% CI = 0.010 to 0.036; p = 0.001). Conclusions: Our findings suggest that higher susceptibility to online health misinformation is associated with poorer health behaviors and greater vaccine hesitancy. Full article
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