Media Health Literacy in Spanish Nursing Students: A Multicenter Cross-Sectional Study

Area of Science:

• Nursing Education
• Health Communication
• Digital Literacy

Background:

• Media literacy is crucial for nursing professionals amidst widespread misinformation.
• Assessing media health literacy in future nurses is essential for public health.
• This study focuses on undergraduate nursing students in Spain.

Purpose of the Study:

• To analyze the level of media health literacy among Spanish undergraduate nursing students.
• To identify factors associated with media health literacy, including gender, region, and socio-educational background.

Main Methods:

• A cross-sectional study involving 416 undergraduate nursing students from five Spanish universities.
• Utilized the Spanish version of the Media Health Literacy (MeHLit-SV) Questionnaire.
• Stratified analysis by gender, region, previous study location, employment, and community size.

Main Results:

• Students achieved an average media health literacy score of 48.73.
• Higher media health literacy was observed in students from central/northeastern regions, those with prior urban study experience, students combining studies with employment, and those from smaller communities (<500 inhabitants).
• No significant gender-based differences in media health literacy were found.

Conclusions:

• The overall media health literacy among Spanish nursing students is deficient.
• Socio-economic and socio-educational factors significantly influence media health literacy levels.
• Integrating media health literacy into nursing curricula is vital for future nurses to lead health self-care initiatives.