The association and intervention effect between eHealth literacy and lifestyle behaviors among Chinese university students

OBJECTIVE: Our aim was to evaluate the association between eHealth literacy and lifestyle behaviors to intervene among Chinese university students. METHOD: The Chinese eHealth Literacy Scale (C-eHEALS) questionnaire was used to investigate the eHealth literacy level and association with lifestyle behaviors among Chinese university students. Independent sample t-test and Pearson’s correlation coefficient were used by statistical software SPSS v20. RESULTS: In the first round, 5,151 university students participated in the study, including 71.46% female and 28.54% male, aged 18–22 (93.13%).The average eHealth literacy score was 26.81 ± 5.83. Four lifestyle behaviors (e.g., exercise, smoking, drinking and sleeping) were all significantly correlated with eHealth literacy scores and demonstrated significant differences. In the second investigation (N = 2,939), the average eHealth literacy score was 31.64 ± 6.44, a notable improvement compared with the first investigation. CONCLUSION: Those in the group with high eHealth literacy scores have a healthier lifestyle than those in the low-score group. Training in eHealth-related resources is a positive measure to improve university students’ eHealth literacy.