Measuring digital health literacy in children and adolescents

The talk will address the different digital health literacy instruments currently existing and present their advantages and limitations. The rapid growth in access and use of digital (health) information resources in our society can also be observed among adolescents and children. However, to date no instrument exists that was specifically designed to measure how children and adolescents find, understand, appraise, and use such digital health information and services. The aim of the talk is to provide an overview of digital literacy instruments and present strengths and limitations of existing instruments. One limitation, the self-reported nature of digital health literacy, will be addressed and potential solutions discussed with the audience. The talk will demonstrate the current lack of instruments to measure digital health literacy in children and adolescents, and what this means for child and adolescent public health and the promotion of digital health literacy.