Health literacy describes skills and competencies that enable people to gain access to, understand and apply health information to positively influence their own health and the health of those in their social environments. In an increasingly media saturated and digitized world, these skill sets are necessary for accessing and navigating sources of health information and tools, such as television, the Internet, and mobile apps. The concepts of Media Health Literacy (MHL) and eHealth Literacy (eHL) describe the specific competencies such tasks require. This article introduces the two concepts, and then reviews findings on the associations of MHL and eHL with several contextual variables in the social environment such as socio-demographics, social support, and system complexity, as a structural variable. As eHL and MHL are crucial for empowering people to actively engage in their own health, there is a growing body of literature reporting on the potential and the effectiveness of intervention initiatives to positively influence these competencies. From an ethical standpoint, equity is emphasized, stressing the importance of accessible media environments for all—including those at risk of exclusion from (digital) media sources. Alignment of micro and macro contextual spheres will ultimately facilitate both non-digital and digital media to effectively support and promote public health.

Chronically disabling health impairments affect an increasing number of people worldwide. In close relationships, disability is an interpersonal experience. Psychological distress is thus common in patients as well as their spouses. Dyadic coping can alleviate stress and promote adjustment in couples who face disabling health impairments. Much research has focused on dyadic coping with cancer. However, other health problems such as physical and sensory impairments are also common and may strongly impact couple relationships. In order to promote couples' optimal adjustment to impaired health, the identification of disability-related relationship challenges is required. Furthermore, ways in which dyadic coping with these challenges may benefit couples could inform researchers and practitioners how to support couples in coping with health impairments. Accordingly, the aims of this study were to systematically review dyadic challenges and dyadic coping when one partner has a chronically disabling physical or sensory impairment. Out of 873 articles identified through database searches, 36 studies met inclusion criteria. The disability-related dyadic challenges identified in the review were changed roles and responsibilities within the couple, altered communication, compromised sexual intimacy, and reduced social participation. These challenges were reported to burden both partners and the couple relationship. Dyadic adjustment benefitted from a we-perspective, i.e., when couples viewed the disability as a shared challenge and engaged in conjoint dyadic coping. The results suggest that patient/care recipient and partner/caregiver roles should be de-emphasized and that disability should be recognized as an interpersonal experience.

Health literacy describes skills and competencies that enable people to gain access to, understand and apply health information to positively influence their own health and the health of those in the social environment. In an increasingly media saturated and digitized world, these skill sets are necessary for accessing and navigating sources of health information and tools, such as television, the Internet, and mobile apps. The concepts of Media Health Literacy (MHL) and eHealth Literacy (eHL) describe the specific competencies such tasks require. This article introduces the two concepts, and then reviews findings on the associations of MHL and eHL with several contextual variables in the social environment such as socio-demographics, social support, and system complexity, as a structural variable. As eHL and MHL are crucial for empowering people to actively engage in their own health, a growing body of literature reports of the potential and the effectiveness of intervention initiatives to positively influence these competencies. From an ethical standpoint, equity is emphasized, stressing the importance of accessible media environments for all - including those at risk of exclusion from (digital) media sources. Alignment of micro and macro contextual spheres will ultimately facilitate both non-digital and digital media to effectively support and promote public health.

The concept of dyadic coping (DC) describes ways in which couples cope with stress together, including, for example, supportive DC (i.e., supporting a partner’s individual coping efforts) or delegated DC (i.e., taking over tasks from one’s partner). Previous research has primarily focused on DC in relation to chronic physical illnesses, foremost cancer. However, stress related to neurocognitive or physical conditions differs with regard to symptoms, course of progression, and associated psychological and social challenges. The current study aims to examine how DC in individuals with early-stage dementia differs from DC in individuals with a visual impairment or in a healthy condition, as well as how DC differs between their partners. Data from two studies were first matched with a sample of couples facing early-stage dementia (n = 37). Couples facing a visual impairment and healthy couples served as control groups. The Dyadic Coping Inventory was used to assess the DC exchanged. Analyses of variance and covariance as well as post hoc tests were used to test for differences in DC. Results show that partners of persons with early-stage dementia report receiving less supportive DC than partners in couples facing a visual impairment or healthy couples, as well as less delegated DC than partners in healthy couples. We did not find any differences on any DC domains in the persons with early-stage dementia compared to persons with visual impairment or persons in healthy couples. This study shows that DC of partners in couples facing early-stage dementia differs from partners in couples facing a visual impairment or healthy couples. Partners should avoid overprotective behaviors that could diminish the sense of self-efficacy of the person with early-stage dementia. Besides methodological suggestions, suggestions are made how tailored interventions, like facilitating participation and portioning tasks, may help improve DC, relationship functioning, and mental health.