Can a validated website help improve university students' e-health literacy?

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Health Communication
• Digital Health Literacy

Background:

• Fake news and misinformation online pose a significant public health challenge, particularly among students.
• Evaluating digital health literacy interventions is crucial for public health efforts.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the effectiveness of the "dottoremaeveroche" website as a health communication tool.
• To evaluate the impact of the website on undergraduate students' electronic health literacy.

Main Methods:

• A pre-post study design was employed with undergraduate medical and communication sciences students.
• A web-based survey measured electronic health literacy and source quality using the Italian-electronic Health Literacy Scale.
• Participants were exposed to the "dottoremaeveroche" website, and changes in self-assessed abilities were analyzed.

Main Results:

• Initial electronic health literacy scores were moderate, with lower confidence in using web information for health decisions.
• Following website use, all measured aspects of electronic health literacy significantly improved (p<.001).
• Overall Italian-electronic Health Literacy Scale scores increased substantially in both student groups.

Conclusions:

• Low electronic health literacy can negatively impact public health initiatives, as observed during the COVID-19 pandemic.
• The "dottoremaeveroche" website demonstrated the value of online educational interventions in enhancing health literacy.
• Implementing such interventions can be a strategy to combat the spread of health-related misinformation (infodemic).