Governments around the world have adopted national policies and programs to improve health literacy. This paper examines progress in the development of evidence to support these policies from interventions to improve health literacy among community populations. Our review found only a limited number of studies (n=7) that met the criteria for inclusion, with many more influenced by the concept of health literacy but not using it in the design and evaluation. Those included were diverse in setting, population and intended outcomes. All included educational strategies to develop functional health literacy, and a majority designed to improve interactive or critical health literacy skills. Several papers were excluded because they described a protocol for an intervention, but not results, indicating that our review may be early in a cycle of activity in community intervention research. The review methodology may not have captured all relevant studies, but it provides a clear message that the academic interest and attractive rhetoric surrounding health literacy needs to be tested more systematically through intervention experimentation in a wide range of populations using valid and reliable measurement tools. The distinctive influence of the concept of health literacy on the purpose and methodologies of health education and communication is not reflected in many reported interventions at present. Evidence to support the implementation of national policies and programs, and the intervention tools required by community practitioners are not emerging as quickly as needed. This should be addressed as a matter of priority by research funding agencies.

The lack of a comprehensive understanding of the role of mass media in perpetuating weight stigma hinders policy formulation. We reviewed the influence of mass media on weight stigmatisation and the effectiveness of media-based interventions designed to prevent or reduce stigma. We conducted a systematic review across seven databases from inception to December 2021. Included studies assessed exposure to or impact of weight stigma in mass media or examined interventions to reduce stigma through media in populations 12+ years. We synthesised data narratively, categorising studies based on similarity in focus to produce a set of integrated findings. The systematic review is registered in PROSPERO (No. CRD42020176306). One-hundred-and-thirteen records were eligible for inclusion from 2402 identified; 95 examined the prevalence of stigmatising content in mass media and its impact on stigma. Weight stigma was prevalent across media types, with the dominant discourse viewing overweight and obesity as an individual responsibility and overlooking systemic factors. Exposure to stigmatising content was found to negatively influence attitudes towards people with overweight or obesity. Few studies considered methods of reducing stigma in the media, with only two testing media-based interventions; their results were promising but limited. Weight stigma in media content is prevalent and harmful, but there is little guidance on reducing it. Future research focus needs to shift from assessing prevalence and impacts to weight stigma interventions. None.

Co-production in health literature has increased in recent years. Despite mounting interest, numerous terms are used to describe co-production. There is confusion regarding its use in health promotion and little evidence and guidance for using co-produced chronic disease prevention interventions in the general population. We conducted a scoping review to examine the research literature using co-production to develop and evaluate chronic disease prevention programs. We searched four electronic databases for articles using co-production for health behaviour change in smoking, physical activity, diet, and/or weight management. In 71 articles that reported using co-production, co-design, co-create, co-develop, and co-construct, these terms were used interchangeably to refer to a participatory process involving researchers, stakeholders, and end users of interventions. Overall, studies used co-production as a formative research process, including focus groups and interviews. Co-produced health promotion interventions were generally not well described or robustly evaluated, and the literature did not show whether co-produced interventions achieved better outcomes than those that were not. Uniform agreement on the meanings of these words would avoid confusion about their use, facilitating the development of a co-production framework for health promotion interventions. Doing so would allow practitioners and researchers to develop a shared understanding of the co-production process and how best to evaluate co-produced interventions.

E-cigarette use (or vaping) is widespread in young people and is a rapidly growing public health problem. While the tobacco and vaping industry has promoted vaping as a smoking cessation aid for adults, the industry has strategically targeted young people through marketing and appealing designs to orientate a new generation of consumers to use their products. These strategies are not new and replicate what we have previously seen employed by the tobacco industry in past decades to maintain and grow their tobacco profits. We review the evidence on tobacco and vaping industry interference, highlighting the calculated and strategic use of interference tactics as a discourse to curb tobacco control efforts. We demonstrate how these tried and tested strategies are now being purposefully re-used in the context of vaping. As Australia is currently undergoing significant policy reforms for the access and retail of vaping products, we also provide a case study of the industry response played out in this contemporary landscape. Government and public health advocates are in a key position to be one step ahead in proactively tackling the vaping crisis. We recommend that continued monitoring of industry activities and strategies, achieving political transparency and tightening loopholes in current regulations are all needed to identify and eliminate the tobacco and vaping industry’s influence on policymaking. Given their previous track record, we emphasize the need to counter industry interference tactics with urgency to prevent a new generation of nicotine dependence and to support and protect future action in tobacco control.

The role of portion control plates in achieving healthy diets is unclear. The aim of this scoping review was to systematically map findings from peer reviewed and grey literature to provide evidence for the use of portion control plates to promote healthy eating and nutrition-related knowledge in children and adults. A secondary aim was to review the design characteristics of portion control plates. The search was conducted in four databases, including Medline, CINAHL, Embase, and PsycInfo, and grey literature sources following the PRISMA scoping review guidelines. A total of 22 articles comprising 23 intervention studies and 8 from grey literature were included. It was found that the various two-dimensional and three-dimensional portion control plates examined were effective tools for better portion size selection in healthy children and adults. Most portion control plates dedicated half the plate to vegetables, a quarter to protein, and a quarter to carbohydrates. The use of portion control plates in nutrition interventions appears to promote weight loss among those with overweight and obesity and/or type 2 diabetes. However, portion control plates were mostly used as part of multicomponent interventions and the effectiveness of the portion control plate as a stand-alone educational resource or portion control tool alone was uncertain. Further interventional research is indicated to investigate portion plates as tools to improve dietary behaviours and food consumption at the population level.