Analysis of health literacy demands in the Food Guide for the Brazilian Population

Abstract

The present study aims to identify the health literacy demands, organized based on their different domains, present in the second edition of the Dietary Guidelines for the Brazilian Population (2014). It is an exploratory-descriptive study, based on the application of a protocol, previously validated for the national context, for health literacy load analysis of the material, with subsequent content analysis of selected excerpts, organized in a matrix. The analysis of the results identified possible barriers to understanding and make meaning of the Guide recommendations, organized according to the fundamental, scientific, civic, and cultural domains of health literacy, which ranged from the use of non-colloquial language and jargon to the impossibility of following the recommendations present therein, due to the context of the social group. The results point to the need to bring the form and content of the material closer to the health literacy demands of its potential beneficiaries, facilitating access, understanding, evaluation and significance of its recommendations by health workers and groups of the population for whom it is intended.