Promoting students’ digital health literacy: does learning in school make a difference?

BACKGROUND: Given the increasing use of digital media among schoolchildren and the resulting opportunities concerning health information seeking and use, it appears important to equip them with the necessary skills to access, understand, appraise, and apply online-based information. The school setting is key to strengthen digital health literacy (DHL). This study examined differences in students’ DHL between those who learned the respective skills at school and those who did not. METHODS: Face-to-face interviews using a standardized questionnaire were conducted with N = 1,448 secondary schoolchildren (9-18 years) to assess their DHL. DHL was assessed using a translated and adapted version of the DHLI. Learning DHL skills in school was assessed using specifically developed items along the seven dimensions of the DHLI. Chi-squared test assessed associations of learning skills with sex, age and subjective family affluence. T-Tests indicated mean skill differences between students who learned the respective skill in school and those who did not. RESULTS: About 50% of students reported to have learned DHL skills in school. More girls than boys reported to learn skills to seek information (X2 (1) = 6.86, p = .009) and determine information relevance (X2 (1) = 6.92, p = .009). With increasing age and decreasing family affluence, more students reported to have learned DHL skills. On average, students who learned the respective skill in school also reported higher levels regarding operation skills t(1172.55) = 4.04, p < .001, adding self-generated content t(224.51) = 4.68, p < .001, information seeking t(1163.58) = 14.89, p < .001, determining relevance t(1257.21) = 12.19, p < .001, and evaluating reliability t(1200.06) = 14.38, p < .001. CONCLUSIONS: Children and youth largely benefit from learning DHL in school. Nevertheless, there is a need to combine DHL interventions and measures with existing curricular requirements to ensure students’ skill acquisition from an early age.