Exploring the Borderlands between Media and Health: Conceptualizing ‘Critical Media Health Literacy’

Abstract

In Canada, as elsewhere, there is considerable concern about adolescents’ health. Much of the blame is thought to lie in the social context for today’s adolescents and their interaction with and dependence on various media. Yet, it is not clear whether and how adolescents learn to engage critically with media messages about health. Emerging from the authors’ previous work in conceptualizing and measuring adolescent health literacy, this article presents the results of a conceptual analysis process using the terms health literacy, critical health literacy, media literacy, critical media literacy, media activism, and critical viewing among others—to arrive at the unique construct of critical media health literacy (CMHL).