eHealth Literacy Interventions: Scoping Review.

Area of Science:

• Digital Health
• Health Literacy
• Intervention Science

Background:

• Electronic resources are key for health information, necessitating eHealth literacy (eHL) for effective engagement.
• eHealth literacy (eHL) encompasses competencies to find, evaluate, and use digital health information.
• Improving eHL is crucial for individuals to manage their health effectively using online resources.

Purpose of the Study:

• To systematically review and synthesize the characteristics of interventions designed to enhance eHealth literacy (eHL).
• To provide a foundational reference for developing future eHL intervention strategies.
• To identify common intervention components, delivery methods, and outcome measures in eHL research.

Main Methods:

• A comprehensive scoping review of studies published in English and Chinese before August 2024.
• Searched multiple databases including PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, and CINAHL.
• Included interventional studies with a primary or secondary objective of enhancing eHL, requiring publicly accessible datasets.

Main Results:

• 35 studies were included, with mobile apps/devices being the most common delivery method (34%).
• Interventions focused on information, health, and computer literacy across six domains of eHL.
• Most interventions showed positive effects (86%) on perceived eHL, knowledge, skills, and health behaviors, though 77% lacked long-term follow-up.

Conclusions:

• Current eHealth literacy interventions often lack strong theoretical grounding and longitudinal assessment.
• Over-reliance on self-reported measures limits the validity of current eHL intervention outcomes.
• Future research should prioritize robust theoretical frameworks, objective outcome metrics, and long-term follow-up designs.