The Relationship Between eHealth Literacy and Self-Efficacy Levels in Midwifery Students Receiving Distance Education During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

BackgroundDuring the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic period, most university courses in Turkey have been taught via distance education. Beyond knowledge of digital technologies, self-efficacy is known to affect the learning motivation and learning goals of students.PurposeThis study was conducted to determine the relationship between eHealth literacy and self-efficacy levels in midwifery students receiving distance education during the current COVID-19 pandemic. The research data were collected using a literature-based questionnaire developed by the researchers, the eHealth Literacy Scale for Adolescents, and the Online Technologies Self-Efficacy Scale. The data were analyzed using IBM SPSS Statistics 25.0, with values of p < .05 considered to be significant.MethodsThis cross-sectional study was carried out during the COVID-19 pandemic on a sample of 578 female midwifery students. Snowball sampling method was used for data collection using an online questionnaire.ResultsOn the basis of the results, eHealth literacy and self-efficacy levels were relatively low in students who were 20 years old or below, who were in their first year, who were from low-income families, who spent less than an hour a day on the Internet, who had a low level of satisfaction with distance education, and who wanted to continue taking theoretical courses via distance education. In addition, self-efficacy related to online technologies was shown to be relatively low in students who found Internet services to be expensive, who had Internet connection problems, and who preferred asynchronous courses. Furthermore, a significant relationship was found between eHealth literacy and self-efficacy levels for online education.Conclusions/Implications for PracticeIn the context of distance education, integrating the teaching/promotion of self-efficacy with regard to eHealth literacy and online technologies into midwifery education curriculum should better enable midwives to increase the quality of healthcare they provide and improve patient safety.

Health literacy among adolescents and young adults in the Eastern Mediterranean region: a scoping review

“…The target population comprised individuals aged 10–25 years. One study targeted only young men31 whereas 1o studies included only women 32–41. The other studies included both male and female adolescents and young adults.…”

“…The identified studies used various types of health literacy related to the following health topics: general health31 32 34 35 42–67; nutrition68–82; non-communicable diseases (NCDs)36 63; HIV83 84; e-health39 85–91; media92; physical health93 94; oral health38 95; medical96; disability67 97 98; mental health37 40 41 99–108; suicide109 110; and depression 33 111. These studies used 36 scales to measure health literacy, and these scales can be grouped into three categories: newly developed scales66 77 82 86 93 98; newly adapted and translated scales33 40 41 43 54 55 64 69 83 96 100 111; and previously adapted and translated scales 34 35 38 39 44–46 49 51–53 56–59 62 65 67 68 71–73 76 78–80 85 87–89 91 95 97 103 104 107–110 112 113…”

“…Among the nine studies that addressed e-health literacy,39 85–91 113 a study including Iranian high school students noted a low level of e-health literacy 86. The other six studies were conducted in Turkey: four of them found that Turkish high school and midwifery students had a satisfactory level of e-health literacy39 88–90 whereas the other two found that university and college students had intermediate levels of e-health literacy 85 87. However, low e-health literacy levels have been reported among Turkish children in early adolescence113 and university students 91…”

Virtual learning of midwifery students during Covid-19

“…Online learning eliminated a lack of confidence so that students are more courageous in expressing their opinions and questions without the limitations of space and time. Distance learning during a pandemic makes it possible to maintain the quality of midwifery education by integrating technology (Sögüt et al, 2022).…”

A reflection on higher education in health in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic: traditional education still perpetuates

“…There were many challenges faced by this new reality, especially regarding the use of technology to provide quality education (Sögüt et al, 2022;Carneiro al., 2020;Oliveira et al, 2020). However, we believe that one of the biggest challenges of education in this context is still overcoming traditional teaching, which has subtly perpetuated in many higher education institutions in health.…”