Associations between COVID-19-Related Digital Health Literacy and Online Information-Seeking Behavior among Portuguese University Students
Abstract
:1. Introduction
2. Materials and Methods
2.1. Participants
2.2. HL Related to COVID-19
2.3. Online Information-Seeking Behavior
2.4. Other Measurements
2.5. Data Analysis
2.6. Ethical and Legal Requirements
3. Results
4. Discussion
5. Conclusions
Supplementary Materials
Author Contributions
Funding
Conflicts of Interest
References
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All | Females | Males | p | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Participants | 3084 | 75.7 | 23.9 | |
Age [mean (SD)] | 24.2 (7.5) | 23.8 (7.0) | 25.5 (8.9) | ≤0.001 a |
Course [n (%)] | ||||
Engineering Sciences | 386 (14.7) | 195 (9.8) | 188 (29.7) | ≤0.001 b |
Humanities | 145 (5.5) | 109 (5.5) | 34 (5.4) | |
Exact sciences |natural| other | 253 (9.6) | 193 (9.7) | 57 (9.0) | |
Health sciences | 886 (33.7) | 752 (37.9) | 134 (21.2) | |
Social sciences, Psychology, Education | 960 (36.5) | 737 (37.1) | 220 (34.8) | |
Degree of study [n (%)] | ||||
Bachelor | 1331 (50.7) | 1047 (52.8) | 278 (43.9) | ≤0.001 b |
Master (integrated) | 544 (20.7) | 373 (18.8) | 168 (26.5) | |
Post-graduation and master | 543 (20.7) | 407 (20.5) | 135 (21.3) | |
Doctorate | 209 (8.0) | 157 (7.9) | 52 (8.2) | |
Subjective social status [n (%)] | ||||
Below median | 1345 (51.4) | 1020 (51.4) | 325 (51.5) | 0.967 b |
Median and above | 1270 (48.6) | 964 (48.6) | 306 (48.5) |
DHL Related to COVID-19 [Median (Interquartile Range)] | All | Females | Males | p |
---|---|---|---|---|
Information Searching | ||||
Limited [n (%)] | 999 (54.7) | 766 (55.6) | 233 (52.0) | 0.2 |
Sufficient [n (%)] | 827 (45.3) | 612 (44.4) | 215 (48.0) | |
…make a choice from all the information you find? | 3.0 (3.0; 4.0) | 3.0 (3.0; 4.0) | 3.0 (3.0; 4.0) | 0.1 |
…use the proper words or search query to find the information you are looking for? | 3.0 (3.0; 4.0) | 3.0 (3.0; 4.0) | 3.0 (3.0; 4.0) | 0.2 |
… find the exact information you are looking for? | 3.0 (3.0; 3.0) | 3.0 (3.0; 3.0) | 3.0 (3.0; 3.0) | 0.5 |
Adding self-generated content | ||||
Limited [n (%)] | 1308 (72.1) | 1009 (73.8) | 299 (67.2) | 0.007 |
Sufficient [n (%)] | 505 (27.9) | 359 (26.2) | 146 (36.8) | |
…clearly formulate your question or health-related worry? | 3.0 (3.0; 3.0) | 3.0 (3.0; 3.0) | 3.0 (3.0; 3.0) | 0.3 |
…express your opinion, thoughts, or feelings in writing? | 3.0 (2.0; 3.0) | 3.0 (2.0; 3.0) | 3.0 (3.0; 4.0) | 0.01 |
…write your message as such, for people to understand exactly what you mean? | 3.0 (3.0; 3.0) | 3.0 (3.0; 3.0) | 3.0 (3.0; 4.0) | 0.004 |
Evaluating reliability | ||||
Limited [n (%)] | 993 (54.4) | 770 (55.9) | 223 (49.9) | 0.03 |
Sufficient [n (%)] | 832 (45.6) | 608 (44.1) | 224 (50.1) | |
...decide whether the information is reliable or not? | 3.0 (3.0; 3.0) | 3.0 (3.0; 3.0) | 3.0 (3.0; 3.0) | 0.1 |
…decide whether the information is written with commercial interests (eg. by people trying to sell a product)? | 3.0 (3.0; 4.0) | 3.0 (3.0; 3.0) | 3.0 (3.0; 4.0) | 0.2 |
…check different websites to see whether they provide the same information? | 3.0 (3.0; 4.0) | 3.0 (3.0; 4.0) | 3.0 (3.0; 4.0) | 0.2 |
Determining relevance | ||||
Limited [n (%)] | 970 (53.2) | 725 (52.7) | 245 (54.8) | 0.4 |
Sufficient [n (%)] | 854 (46.8) | 652 (47.3) | 202 (45.2) | |
…decide if the information you found is applicable to you? | 3.0 (3.0; 4.0) | 3.0 (3.0; 4.0) | 3.0 (3.0; 4.0) | 0.3 |
…apply the information you found in your daily life? | 3.0 (3.0; 4.0) | 3.0 (3.0; 4.0) | 3.0 (3.0; 4.0) | 0.2 |
…use the information you found to make decisions about your health (eg. on protective measures, hygiene regulations, transmission routes, risks and their prevention)? | 3.0 (3.0; 4.0) | 3.0 (3.0; 4.0) | 3.0 (3.0; 4.0) | 0.04 |
DHL Related to COVID-19 Adjusted OR (95% CI) | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Information Searching | Adding Self-Generated Content | Evaluating Reliability | Determining Relevance | |
Weeks of data collection | ||||
Week 1 | ref | ref | ref | ref |
Week 2 | 0.9 (0.7; 1.2) | 1.0 (0.7; 1.3) | 0.8 (0.7; 1.1) | 0.9 (0.7; 1.2) |
Week 3 and 4 | 0.7 (0.5; 1.1) | 0.8 (0.5; 1.3) | 0.7 (0.5; 1.1) | 1.1 (0.7; 1.6) |
Week 5 and 6 | 1.0 (0.8; 1.3) | 0.8 (0.6; 1.1) | 0.8 (0.6; 1.1) | 0.7 (0.6; 0.9) |
Search engines (e.g., Google, Bing, Yahoo!) | ||||
Never and rarely | ref | Ref | Ref | ref |
Sometimes and often | 0.7 (0.5; 0.9) | 0.8 (0.6; 1.1) | 0.8 (0.6; 1.1) | 0.8 (0.6; 1.1) |
Websites of public bodies | ||||
Never and rarely | ref | ref | ref | ref |
Sometimes and often | 1.4 (1.0; 2.2) | 1.6 (1.0; 2.5) | 1.7 (1.1; 2.5) | 1.6 (1.1; 2.5) |
Wikipedia and other online-encyclopaedias | ||||
Never and rarely | Ref | ref | ref | Ref |
Sometimes and often | 0.8 (0.7; 1.0) | 0.8 (0.7; 1.1) | 0.7 (0.6; 0.9) | 0.7 (0.6; 0.9) |
Social media (e.g., Facebook, Instagram, Twitter) | ||||
Never and rarely | Ref | ref | ref | Ref |
Sometimes and often | 0.7 (0.6; 0.9) | 0.9 (0.7; 1.1) | 0.7 (0.6; 0.8) | 0.9 (0.7; 1.1) |
YouTube | ||||
Never and rarely | ref | Ref | Ref | Ref |
Sometimes and often | 1.0 (0.9; 1.2) | 1.0 (0.8; 1,3) | 0.9 (0.7; 1.1) | 1.0 (0.9; 1.2) |
Blogs on health topics | ||||
Never and rarely | ref | Ref | Ref | Ref |
Sometimes and often | 0.9 (0.7; 1,2) | 1.0 (0.8; 1,3) | 0.9 (0.7; 1,1) | 0.9 (0.7; 1,1) |
Guidebook-communities (e.g., SNS-24) | ||||
Never and rarely | ref | Ref | Ref | Ref |
Sometimes and often | 1.1 (0.8; 1.4) | 1.1 (0.8; 1.4) | 0.9 (0.7; 1.1) | 0.9 (0.8; 1.2) |
Health portals | ||||
Never and rarely | ref | Ref | Ref | Ref |
Sometimes and often | 1.0 (0.8; 1.2) | 1.1 (0.9; 1.4) | 1.3 (1.1; 1.6) | 1.1 (0.9; 1.3) |
Websites of doctors or health insurance companies | ||||
Never and rarely | ref | Ref | Ref | Ref |
Sometimes and often | 1.0 (0.8; 1.3) | 1.1 (0.9; 1.4) | 1.1 (0.9; 1.4) | 1.1 (0.9; 1.4) |
News portals (e.g., of newspapers, TV stations) | ||||
Never and rarely | ref | ref | ref | ref |
Sometimes and often | 1.1 (0.8; 1.4) | 1.0 (0.8; 1.4) | 1.2 (0.9; 1.6) | 1.1 (0.9; 1.5) |
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Rosário, R.; Martins, M.R.O.; Augusto, C.; Silva, M.J.; Martins, S.; Duarte, A.; Fronteira, I.; Ramos, N.; Okan, O.; Dadaczynski, K. Associations between COVID-19-Related Digital Health Literacy and Online Information-Seeking Behavior among Portuguese University Students. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2020, 17, 8987. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17238987
Rosário R, Martins MRO, Augusto C, Silva MJ, Martins S, Duarte A, Fronteira I, Ramos N, Okan O, Dadaczynski K. Associations between COVID-19-Related Digital Health Literacy and Online Information-Seeking Behavior among Portuguese University Students. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 2020; 17(23):8987. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17238987
Chicago/Turabian StyleRosário, Rafaela, Maria R. O. Martins, Cláudia Augusto, Maria José Silva, Silvana Martins, Ana Duarte, Inês Fronteira, Neida Ramos, Orkan Okan, and Kevin Dadaczynski. 2020. "Associations between COVID-19-Related Digital Health Literacy and Online Information-Seeking Behavior among Portuguese University Students" International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 17, no. 23: 8987. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17238987