Teaching digital health literacy skills in schools: A quantitative study among teachers

BACKGROUND: In societies increasingly characterized by media and information diversity, digital health literacy (DHL) is an essential key competence for public health. Due to their educational mandate, schools are an important setting for the promotion of DHL, with teachers playing an important facilitating role. While there are findings available on generic health literacy of teachers, evidence is lacking regarding their DHL and the level of teaching DHL in schools. METHODS: An online survey using a non-probability sample of school teachers in Germany was carried out (N = 1,600). DHL was measured using a translated version of the adult Digital Health Literacy Instrument (DHLI) tool. The level of teaching DHL was assessed using self-developed items based on the seven DHLI dimensions. Descriptive analyses and chi-square tests were conducted in SPSS. RESULTS: A large number of teachers reported the level of teaching DHL to be problematic (45,5%) or even inadequate (22,2%). While operational skills, e.g., using a keyboard, are the most likely to be taught in the context of seeking health information, 31% of teachers reported that these skills were not or hardly addressed at their school. Adding self-generated health content, e.g., how to create health-related messages on social media, is the least taught skill, 81% reported that this is taught hardly or not at all. The degree to which DHL is taught is associated with their age (p < .048), school position (p < .001), and own DHL (p < .001), which was found to be low for 44% of teachers. CONCLUSIONS: The results show that hardly any DHL content is taught in German schools. However, as teaching of DHL in school plays a significant role in student DHL, it should be integrated more often into teaching and learning situations. The links between teacher DHL and the degree to which DHL is taught suggest that teachers’ DHL should be systematically promoted. Education policies in Germany should support incorporating DHL into the curriculum.