The framework begins by including individual
characteristics of adolescents, several of which are
included in the IOM framework. The framework
depicts how individual traits, such as age, race,
gender, cultural background, cognitive and physical
abilities and social skills, predict one’s health literacy
which then determines health outcomes [35].
Media use is a crucial component of an adolescentspecific
framework given that adolescents are frequent
users of the mass media. Youth aged 8–18
spend almost 6.5 hours per day with some type of
media [38]. Media have been shown to influence
physical and social development of youth, have been
associated with health behavior and are often cited as
a source of health information for adolescents [39–
44]. Educational television has been linked with
advances in literacy, reading comprehension and
math skills for children [45]. Given that media has
been linked to development, health behavior and
literacy, it is reasonable to conclude there may be
an association of media use with health literacy