Author(s): Rosário, Rafaela ; Martins, Maria R. O. ; Augusto, Cláudia ; Silva, Maria José ; Martins, Silvana ; Duarte, Ana Catarina Silva Pinto ; Fronteira, Inês ; Ramos, Neida ; Okan, Orkan ; Dadaczynski, Kevin
Date: 2020
Persistent ID: https://hdl.handle.net/1822/68482
Origin: RepositóriUM - Universidade do Minho
Subject(s): digital health literacy; COVID-19; university students; information-seeking behavior
We aim to evaluate the associations between digital health literacy (DHL) related to COVID-19 and online information-seeking behavior among university students. Methods: A total of 3.084 students (75.7% women), with an average age of 24.2 (SD = 7.5) participated in this cross-sectional study, most of whom (36.5%) were from social sciences and pursued a bachelor’s degree (50.7%). Data on COVID-19-related DHL and online information-seeking behavior were collected using an online questionnaire. Logistic regression models were performed. Results: As the pandemic progressed, participants showed a lower chance of achieving a sufficient DHL (OR = 0.7; 95% CI = 0.6; 0.9). Using search engines more often (e.g., Google) (OR = 0.7; 95% CI = 0.5; 0.9), Wikipedia (OR = 0.7; 95% CI = 0.6; 0.9) and social media (e.g., Facebook) (OR = 0.7; 95% CI = 0.6; 0.9) decreased the likelihood of achieving sufficient DHL related to COVID-19. More frequent use of websites of public bodies (OR = 1.7; 95% CI = 1.1; 2.5) increased the odds of reporting sufficient DHL. Conclusion: DHL is associated with university students’ online information-seeking behavior in the time of COVID-19. From a community and public health perspective, programs aiming at improving DHL should be highlighted.
