Association of eHealth Literacy With Lifestyle Behaviors in University Students: Questionnaire-Based Cross-Sectional Study

Abstract

Background Maintenance of good health and a healthy lifestyle have significant impacts on the lives of university students. However, university students are prone to engage in risky health behaviors, resulting in impaired health status. Electronic health (eHealth) literacy is an important factor in maintaining a healthy lifestyle. However, no studies have assessed the eHealth literacy levels and the associated lifestyle behaviors among university students in Japan. Objective The purposes of this study were to clarify the eHealth literacy level, the participant characteristics associated with eHealth literacy, and the association of eHealth literacy with lifestyle behaviors of students in a Japanese university. Methods A questionnaire-based cross-sectional study of 3183 students at a national university in Japan was conducted. eHealth literacy was quantified using the Japanese version of the eHealth Literacy Scale (eHEALS). The association between participant characteristics (gender, school year, department of study, and living status) and eHEALS score was assessed using t tests. Additionally, the associations of eHealth literacy with lifestyle behaviors (exercise, smoking, alcohol consumption, etc.) were evaluated using logistic regression analyses. Results The mean eHEALS score was 23.6/40 points. The mean eHEALS score for students in medical departments was 27.0/40 points, which was 2.9 points higher than that of nonmedical students (P<.001). Similarly, the graduate school participants had higher scores than the undergraduate students. The proportion of participants who exercised regularly was higher in the high eHEALS score group than in the low score group, with an adjusted odds ratio of 1.39 (P<.001). Conclusions The eHealth literacy level of university students in Japan was comparable to that of the general Japanese population. Graduate students, as well as those in medical departments, had higher eHealth literacy. Furthermore, students with higher eHealth literacy had better exercise routines.

Willingness to Adopt mHealth Among Chinese Parents During the COVID-19 Outbreak: Cross-sectional Questionnaire Study (Preprint)

“…This study indicates that duration of daily internet use is associated with a willingness to adopt mHealth among parents, which is in line with a previous study that reported time spent on the internet is greatly associated with the level of eHealth literacy [30,31]. However, time spent on the internet was reported to be a nonsignificant factor in other studies; therefore, the small sample size and methodological differences may have played an important role in it [32,33].…”

“…Results from the bivariate analyses demonstrated that age, interest in the pandemic, the source that recommended mHealth, the presence of a chronic disease in children, duration of daily internet use, and use of mHealth before the COVID-19 outbreak were associated with willingness to adopt mHealth during the pandemic. The multivariate logistics regression model indicated that the parents' age (26)(27)(28)(29)(30)(31)(32)(33)(34)(35) The odds of being willing to adopt mHealth were 8.1 times greater in parents aged from 26 to 35 years than parents aged from 18 to 25 years (P=.02). The odds of being willing to adopt mHealth were 8.6 times greater in respondents with moderate interest in the pandemic than respondents with low interest (P=.004).…”

Associations Between Health Literacy, eHealth Literacy, and COVID-19–Related Health Behaviors Among Chinese College Students: Cross-sectional Online Study

“…Researchers have attributed this association to risk perception; COVID-19 pandemic information on the internet exacerbates concerns and may prompt users to adopt protective behaviors [ 45 ]. Further, a related study of college students reported that their eHealth literacy is associated with regular exercise, healthy eating, and routine sleep [ 46 ]. Moreover, a study found that eHealth literacy is related to disease prevention behaviors, such as finding vaccination information [ 47 ].…”

The associations among individual factors, eHealth literacy, depression symptoms and health related quality of life among Chinese elderly: a cross-section study

“…Even though people with chronic had strong desire to seek for health information on the internet for medication information, nutrition, disease management and prevention actions, and so on. It has reported that those who rated their health as good or excellent had signi cantly higher eHEALS scores than those who rated their health as fair or poor [34]. In addition, participants in the high eHEALS scores group exercised more frequently than those in the low score group.…”