scholarly journals Exploring Children's Computer Literacy Practices Through a Digital Health Literacy Lens: A Pilot Study (Preprint)

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lorie Donelle ◽  
Danica Facca ◽  
Shauna Burke ◽  
Bradley Hiebert ◽  
Emma Bender ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Health Literacy ◽  
Pilot Study ◽  
Young Children ◽  
Computer Literacy ◽  
Literacy Practices ◽  
Personal Information ◽  
Digital Health ◽  
Health Promotion Program ◽  
Digital Devices

BACKGROUND In our digitally driven age it is no surprise that children are becoming regular users of information and communication devices such as tablets, smartphones, and social media. Although a growing body of literature continues to investigate children’s use of these digital devices, attention to elements of children’s digital health literacy is limited. Digital health literacy, a more recent term for eHealth literacy, is the combination of diverse literacies and proficiencies needed to access and critically evaluate information within Web 1.0 and 2.0 contexts. A fundamental component of digital health literacy is computer literacy which involves context-specific elements such as a user’s distribution of personal information and exercise of privacy settings. OBJECTIVE The objective of this pilot study was to explore children’s computer literacy practices through their social media use. METHODS The study used a cross sectional survey with 42 young children aged six to 10 years who were enrolled in an after-school health promotion program in Southwestern Ontario, Canada. RESULTS Results indicated that young children share their personal information online through social media and download applications to the digital devices they use without consistent parental supervision or adult (teacher) oversight. CONCLUSIONS In order to support young children’s self-directed exploration and use of social media, deeper examination of computer literacy, among other aspects of digital health literacy, is warranted so parents, educators, and researchers alike can respect and support children’s learning and wellbeing as independent users of digital devices.

scholarly journals COVID-19 Misinformation Online and Health Literacy: A Brief Overview

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (15) ◽  
pp. 8091
Author(s):  
Salman Bin Naeem ◽  
Maged N. Kamel Boulos
Keyword(s):  
Machine Learning ◽  
Social Media ◽  
Health Literacy ◽  
Information Content ◽  
Digital Health ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
The World ◽  
Synergistic Approach ◽  
Viral Nature

Low digital health literacy affects large percentages of populations around the world and is a direct contributor to the spread of COVID-19-related online misinformation (together with bots). The ease and ‘viral’ nature of social media sharing further complicate the situation. This paper provides a quick overview of the magnitude of the problem of COVID-19 misinformation on social media, its devastating effects, and its intricate relation to digital health literacy. The main strategies, methods and services that can be used to detect and prevent the spread of COVID-19 misinformation, including machine learning-based approaches, health literacy guidelines, checklists, mythbusters and fact-checkers, are then briefly reviewed. Given the complexity of the COVID-19 infodemic, it is very unlikely that any of these approaches or tools will be fully effective alone in stopping the spread of COVID-19 misinformation. Instead, a mixed, synergistic approach, combining the best of these strategies, methods, and services together, is highly recommended in tackling online health misinformation, and mitigating its negative effects in COVID-19 and future pandemics. Furthermore, techniques and tools should ideally focus on evaluating both the message (information content) and the messenger (information author/source) and not just rely on assessing the latter as a quick and easy proxy for the trustworthiness and truthfulness of the former. Surveying and improving population digital health literacy levels are also essential for future infodemic preparedness.

scholarly journals All that Glitters Is not Gold: Consumer Health Informatics and Education in the Era of Social Media and Health Apps

2016 ◽  
Vol 25 (01) ◽  
pp. 188-193 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. Staccini ◽  
L. Fernandez-Luque ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Health Literacy ◽  
Health Care Professionals ◽  
Health Informatics ◽  
Health Management ◽  
Digital Health ◽  
Unintended Consequences ◽  
Consumer Health Informatics ◽  
Consumer Health ◽  
Chronic Patients

Summary Objective: To summarize the state of the art published during the year 2015 in the areas related to consumer health informatics and education with a special emphasis on unintended consequences of applying mobile and social media technologies in that domain. Methods: We conducted a systematic review of articles published in PubMed with a predefined set of queries, which lead to the selection of over 700 potential relevant articles. Section editors screened those papers on the title, abstract, and finally complete paper basis, taking into account the papers’ relevance for the section topic. The 15 most representative papers were finally selected by consensus between the two section editors and submitted for full review and scoring to external reviewers and the yearbook editors. Based on the final scoring, section editors selected the best five papers. Results: The five best papers can be grouped in two major areas: 1) Digital health literacy and 2) Quality and safety concerns. Regarding health literacy issues of patients with chronic conditions such as asthma, online interventions should rather focus on changing patient beliefs about the disease than on supporting them in the management of their pathology since personally controlled health management systems do not show expected benefits,. Nevertheless, encouraging and training chronic patients for an active online health information–seeking behaviour substantially decreases state anxiety level. Regarding safety and privacy issues, even recommended health-related apps available on mobile phones do not guarantee personal data protection. Furthermore, the analysis indicated that patients undergoing Internet interventions experienced at least one adverse event that might be related to treatment. At least, predictive factors have been identified in order to credit or not a health rumour. Conclusions: Trusting digital and connected health can be achieved if patients, health care professionals, and industrials build a shared model of health data management integrating ethics rules. Only increasing efforts in education with regards of digital health would help reach this goal., This would not resolve all frauds and security issues but at least improve their detection.

scholarly journals Digital health literacy and online information seeking in times of COVID-19. A cross-sectional survey among university students in Germany (Preprint)

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kevin Dadaczynski ◽  
Orkan Okan ◽  
Melanie Messer ◽  
Angela Y. M. Leung ◽  
Rafaela Rosário ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Health Literacy ◽  
University Students ◽  
Information Seeking ◽  
Digital Health ◽  
Online Information ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Related Information ◽  
Health Related ◽  
Online Information Seeking

BACKGROUND Digital communication technologies play an important role in governments’ and public health authorities’ health communication strategies during the COVID-19 pandemic. The internet and social media have become important sources of health-related information on the coronavirus and on protective behaviours. In addition, the COVID-19 infodemic spreads faster than the coronavirus itself, which interferes with governmental health-related communication efforts. This puts national public health containment strategies in jeopardy. Therefore, digital health literacy is a key competence to navigate coronavirus-related information and service environments. OBJECTIVE This study aimed to investigate university students’ digital health literacy and online information seeking behaviours during the early stages of the coronavirus pandemic in Germany. METHODS A cross-sectional study among N=14,916 university students aged ≥18 from 130 universities across all sixteen federal states of Germany was conducted using an online survey. Along with sociodemographic characteristics (sex, age, subjective social status) measures included five subscales from the Digital Health Literacy Instrument (DHLI), which was adapted to the specific coronavirus context. Online information seeking behaviour was investigated by examining the online sources used by university students and the topics that students search for in connection with the coronavirus. Data were analysed using univariate and bivariate analyses. RESULTS Across digital health literacy dimensions, the greatest difficulties could be found for assessing the reliability of health-related information (42.3%) and the ability to determine whether the information was written with commercial interest (38.9%). Moreover, respondents also indicated that they most frequently have problems finding the information they are looking for (30.4%). When stratified according to sociodemographic characteristics, significant differences were found with female university students reporting a lower DHLI for the dimensions of ‘information searching’ and of ‘evaluating reliability’. Search engines, news portals and public bodies’ websites were most often used by the respondents as sources to search for information on COVID-19 and related issues. Female students were found to use social media and health portals more frequently, while male students used Wikipedia and other online encyclopaedias as well as YouTube more often. The use of social media was associated with a low ability to critically evaluate information, while opposite differences were observed for the use of public websites. CONCLUSIONS Although digital health literacy is, in summary, well developed in university students, a significant proportion of students still face difficulties with certain abilities to deal with information. There is need to strengthen the digital health literacy capacities of university students using tailored interventions. Improving the quality of health-related information on the internet is also key. CLINICALTRIAL

Young Children's Engagement With Digital Technologies in the Family Context

2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 90-101 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vilmantė Liubinienė ◽  
Ramunė Kasperavičienė
Keyword(s):  
Young Children ◽  
Digital Literacy ◽  
Literacy Practices ◽  
Digital Technologies ◽  
Family Context ◽  
Smart Devices ◽  
Online Technologies ◽  
Digital Devices ◽  
The Family

Although more and more children engage in daily online activities with digital technologies, the roles that online technologies play in children's lives are still understudied. This article aims at identifying the role of digital devices as well as practices in which young children are engaged at home. It also strives to explore digital literacy practices and to research how these are embedded into the family context. The case study of Lithuania discussed in this article contributes with new knowledge about the local contexts and may help to understand the main problems to be further worked upon with on a global and European scale. The research of young children and their engagement with digital technology in Lithuania comes as part of the EC JRC project “Young Children (0–8) and Digital Technologies.” The findings reveal that although children perceive online technologies and the use of smart devices as entertainment and relaxation, they are not addicted. Several factors affect young children's uses and skills of digital technologies, including family constitution and parental styles.

scholarly journals Digital work engagement among Italian neurologists

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
pp. 204062232110296
Author(s):  
Francesco Brigo ◽  
Marta Ponzano ◽  
Maria Pia Sormani ◽  
Marinella Clerico ◽  
Gianmarco Abbadessa ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Work Engagement ◽  
Neurological Disorders ◽  
Digital Health ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Logistic Regression Models ◽  
Digital Devices ◽  
The Social ◽  
Digital Work

Background: Digital health, including telemedicine, is increasingly recommended for the management of chronic neurological disorders, and it has changed the roles of patients and clinicians. Methods: In this cross-sectional study we aimed to investigate the digital work engagement of Italian neurologists through a survey collected between September 2020 and January 2021. Questionnaires were anonymous and collected demographic characteristics, attitudes towards digital devices and social media, and details about the clinician–patient relationship. We used logistic-regression models to identify characteristics associated with the propensity to communicate with patients using social media. Results: Among the 553 neurologists who participated to the study, smartphones and computers were widely preferred compared with tablets; wearable devices were not common, although some neurologists desired them. A total of 48% of participants reported communicating with patients using social media but only a few were in favor of social friendship with patients; WhatsApp was the social media most popular for professional (86%) and personal (98%) purposes. Propensity to communicate with social media was significantly higher among those who were older ( p < 0.001) and lived in regions outside northern Italy (center: p = 0.006; south and the islands: p < 0.001). For 58% of responders, social media improved their relationship with patients, but 72% usually warned patients about unreliable websites. Conclusions: The preferred social media were those which were rapid and which safeguard privacy more effectively; neurologists made many efforts to disprove fake news circulating online, providing help to patients in various ways. This analysis can help direct future interventions for the management of chronic neurological disorders.

scholarly journals Cognitive Interviews: Testing the Digital Health Literacy Instrument (Preprint)

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eunhee Park ◽  
Misol Kwon
Keyword(s):  
Health Literacy ◽  
Content Validity ◽  
Digital Health ◽  
Cognitive Interviews ◽  
Thinking Aloud ◽  
Web Based ◽  
Response Options ◽  
Digital Devices ◽  
Device Use ◽  
Insight Into

BACKGROUND Despite the increasing number of youth seeking health information on the internet, few studies have been conducted to measure digital health literacy in this population. Digital Health Literacy Instruments (DHLI) is defined as a scale that measures the ability to operate digital devices, and read and write in online-based modes; it assesses seven sub-constructs: operational skills, navigation skills, evaluating reliability, determining relevance, adding self-generated content to a web-based app, and protecting and respecting privacy. Currently, there has been no validation process for adolescents on this instrument yet. OBJECTIVE To explore the usability and content validity of DHLIs. METHODS Upon the approval of IRB protocol, cognitive interviews were conducted. Thirty-four adolescents aged 10-18 years old (50% female) participated in individual cognitive interviews. Two rounds of concurrent cognitive interviews were conducted to measure the content validity of DHLI utilizing the ‘thinking aloud’ method and probing questions. RESULTS Major issues of comprehension and communication including unclear wording, undefined technical terms, vague terms, and difficult vocabularies were identified. Problems related to potentially inappropriate assumptions were also identified. In addition, concerns related to recall bias with unclear reference periods, and bias by measuring socially uncommon phenomena were raised. No issue regarding response options or instrument instructions were noted. CONCLUSIONS The initial round of interviews provided potential resolution to the identified problems with comprehension and communication, while the second round prompted improvement in content validity. More work needs to be conducted to address issues related to inappropriate assumptions or bias when Internet and digital device use are considered uncommon phenomena among adolescents. Dual rounds of cognitive interviews provided substantial insight into survey interpretation when introduced to US adolescents. This validation study suggests revision points for assessing adolescent digital health literacy.

Fake News and Social Media about SARS-CoV-2: Insights from Peru (Preprint)

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aldo Alvarez-Risco ◽  
Christian R. Mejia ◽  
Jaime Delgado-Zegarra ◽  
Shyla Del-Aguila-Arcentales ◽  
Arturo A. Arce-Esquivel ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Health Literacy ◽  
Digital Health ◽  
Literacy Skills ◽  
Fake News ◽  
Health Authorities ◽  
Use Of Social Media ◽  
Control And Management ◽  
Inadequate Health Literacy ◽  
Selection Of

UNSTRUCTURED Fake news has become a common practice in recent years, which is facilitated by the overwhelming use of social media by the general public. This viewpoint paper aims to analyze a selection of fake news disseminated in Peru about SARS-CoV-2 and we propose specific strategies to deal with it. In the current SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, the need for providing official and timely information is key in the control and management of the COVID-19 disease. However, health authorities are struggling not only with providing proper patients’ care, but also dealing with appropriate risk communication given the massive spread of misinformation and fake news. Inadequate health literacy and lack of digital health literacy skills might worsen the problem. There is an urgent need to build capacity in schools and promote trusted sources in Peru and to educate on digital health literacy to combat misinformation from social media venues.

scholarly journals Building health knowledge online: Parents’ online information searching on congenital heart defects

2017 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
pp. 4-19 ◽  
Author(s):  
Theres Bellander ◽  
Zoe Nikolaidou
Keyword(s):  
Health Literacy ◽  
Congenital Heart Defects ◽  
Congenital Heart ◽  
Health Knowledge ◽  
Literacy Practices ◽  
Meaning Making ◽  
Heart Defects ◽  
Digital Health ◽  
Online Information ◽  
Heart Defect

The study examines online searching as a digital health literacy practice and focuses on parents of children with congenital heart defects. Over the period of four years, we have conducted interviews with couples at different stages of pregnancy or parenthood and have encouraged them to reflect on their literacy practices when receiving a heart defect diagnosis, during the remaining time of their pregnancy and when living with a child with a heart defect. We have also read and analysed health blogs written by parents and focused on extracts where literacy events are described. Searching for information and support online is one of the most frequent practices amongst the participants in the study. The aim of this paper is therefore to highlight the complexity of looking for information online in order to take health decisions and provide care to a child with congenital illness. Based on what parents say they do when searching online, we focus on three main paths to knowledge: looking for medical facts, looking for other parents’ experiences and looking for practical information. We discuss digital health literacy practices as complex activities that often involve parents in the diagnosis and in the child’s medical care to such an extent that parents build up knowledge and become experts, not only in finding information and support but in talking and writing about their child’s illness. We also problematise the notion of trustworthy health information and show how facts and opinions often go hand in hand in platforms where health issues are discussed. Finally, we show some of the affordances and restrictions inherent in using the internet as a source for meaning making and learning about children’s health. The results reinforce our understanding of the socially framed nature of health literacy and make us focus on the digital as an additional important aspect in the practice of health literacy.

Illuminating (digital) health literacy practices using applied linguistics

2020 ◽  
Vol 30 (Supplement_5) ◽  
Author(s):  
S Harsch ◽  
U Bittlingmayer
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Health Literacy ◽  
Everyday Life ◽  
Conceptual Model ◽  
Health Knowledge ◽  
Literacy Practices ◽  
Qualitative Content Analysis ◽  
Digital Health ◽  
Organizational Contexts ◽  
Language Courses

Abstract Background Health literacy (HL) is key to making well-informed health decision in analogous and virtual social situations and organizational contexts. Multiple models and instruments of HL exist, but an in-depth understanding of the various HL-related everyday life situations and their digital and linguistic requirements are scarce. Here, the expertise of second language courses (SLC) can be of great value as they support newcomers acquiring the necessary skills for everyday communication, including health. In the project SCURA, funded by the German Federal Ministry for Education and Research, we explored the German SLC, attended by 2.1 million migrants and refugees since 2005, and developed interventions to promote HL in it. The aim is to understand what everyday situations require (digital) HL skills, what characterizes them and what can we learn for HL models and interventions. Methods We conducted a qualitative content analysis (Bowen 2009) of the 8 newest, approved German second language textbooks series, identified all tasks related to HL, analyzed the situation, topic, language skills, analogue/digital and HL dimension and compared the findings with the HLS-EU conceptual model of HL. Results We identified 180 HL-related communication situations, including 33 tasks related to digital HL. Compared to the HLS-EU conceptual model, the HL activities in SLC reveal a broad understanding of HL including physical, mental and social aspects of HL, linguistic, cultural and digital skills and even critical HL. 5 HL-related dimensions emerged: communication for health, health literacy, health knowledge, health behaviour and life-skills. The differentiation and activities can help to develop further models and interventions that target specific situations requiring digital HL more effectively. Conclusions The analysis of the SLC curricula specified the various (digital) HL-related everyday life situations and! the differentiated model helps to develop promising interventions.

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