To translate and validate the HLS-Child-Q15, a relatively short questionnaire for assessing health literacy in children originally validated in German, into English to make it accessible to a large population of English-speaking children.

We translated the HLS-Child-Q15 into English following established methods, including forward and backward translation, using multiple translators. We incorporated clinician and consumer input into the translation process. We conducted a qualitative pre-test to assess comprehension and a validation to assess psychometric properties and test-retest reliability.

Perth Children’s Hospital, Perth, Western Australia

We recruited English-speaking children aged 8 to 15 years.

Qualitative analysis of pre-test interviews, Cronbach’s α coefficient for internal consistency and intraclass correlation coefficient for test-retest reliability.

The translation process yielded an acceptable translation. A qualitative pre-test conducted with 10 children demonstrated good comprehension of questionnaire items and resulted in small changes to increase item clarity. Validation with 207 participants demonstrated that questionnaire output score increased with age, school year, self-efficacy score, parental educational level and home literacy environment score. Internal consistency was assessed, with a Cronbach’s α coefficient of 0.854 (95% CI 0.812 to 0.887). Test-retest reliability was moderate, with an intraclass correlation coefficient of 0.612 (95% CI 0.402 to 0.761).

The translated HLS-Child-Q15 was well understood by children. Validation of the translated questionnaire demonstrated adequate psychometric properties, consistent with the original German questionnaire. The translated HLS-Child-Q15 is suitable for use with English-speaking children.

Data are available on reasonable request and in compliance with institutional ethics and governance requirements.

ACTRN12622001499774

School feeding programmes (SFPs) are widely implemented to address child poverty, food insecurity and malnutrition, yet evidence on their influence on children’s health outcomes is limited. With ongoing debate around universal versus targeted provision, this scoping review aims to map global literature on SFPs, identify which health and well-being outcomes are reported, and explore how these outcomes vary by programme type (targeted vs universal).

Scoping review conducted in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines. The protocol was pre-registered on the Open Science Framework.

Four electronic databases—Medline, PubMed, Web of Science and Google Scholar—were searched in December 2023 and July 2025. Reference lists of included papers were also screened.

Included studies examined the impact of SFPs on physical, emotional, psychological and social health outcomes in children aged 5–16. Only English-language studies published between 2009 and 2025 were included.

Data were extracted using a structured template and reviewed by multiple authors. Due to the heterogeneity in study designs and reported outcomes, a narrative synthesis approach was used to group findings thematically, following established guidance for narrative synthesis in systematic reviews.

A total of 44 papers were included in the final review, spanning 13 countries and published between 2009 and 2025. SFPs were associated with healthier weight status, improved dietary intake, better social engagement and reductions in stigma. Targeted programmes addressed food insecurity but were more often linked to stigma and poorer mental health outcomes.

Universal SFP were effective at improving children’s health outcomes such as healthy weight, improved behaviour and social support. Overall, both targeted and universal SFP positively impact children’s health outcomes and address health disparities.