A cross‐sectional study of nursing students' eHealth literacy and COVID‐19 preventive behaviours

AIM: This study explored nursing students' eHealth literacy, lifestyle behaviours and COVID‐19‐related preventive behaviours and associated factors. DESIGN: A cross‐sectional comparative correlational study. METHODS: Nursing students (n = 358) from a metropolitan area of South Korea were recruited for an online survey. The online questionnaire included: The eHealth Literacy Scale, the Health Promoting Lifestyle Profile‐II and the COVID‐19‐related preventive behaviour scale. RESULTS: COVID‐19‐related preventive behaviours correlated positively with satisfaction with one's major, time spent seeking health information online, eHealth literacy and lifestyle behaviours. Significant factors affecting COVID‐19‐related preventive behaviours were the following: being female (β = 0.194, p < .001), time spent seeking health information online (β = 0.114, p = .002), eHealth literacy (β = 0.167, p = .001) and lifestyle behaviours (β = 0.266, p < .001). CONCLUSIONS: Findings highlight the need to strengthen searching behaviours to access accurate health information online and reinforce eHealth literacy and health‐promoting lifestyle behaviours to improve COVID‐19 preventive behaviours among nursing students.