Regresar

Digital Health Literacy Related to COVID-19: Validation and Implementation of a Questionnaire in Hispanic University Students

Abstract:

Digital health literature influences decision-making in health. There are no validated instruments to evaluate the digital literature about COVID-19 in Spanish-speaking countries. This study aimed to validate the Digital Health Literacy Questionnaire (DHLI) about COVID-19 adapted to Spanish in university students and to describe its most important results. A cross-sectional study was developed with 2318 university students from Spain, Puerto Rico, and Ecuador. Internal consistency was measured with Cronbach’s alpha and principal component analysis. Construct validity was analyzed using Spearman’s correlations and the Kruskal–Wallis test. The internal consistency of the questionnaire was good for the global scale (Cronbach’s alpha 0.69, 95% CI 0.67) as well as for its dimensions. A total of 51.1% (n = 946) of students had sufficient digital literacy, 40.1% (n = 742) had problematic digital literacy, and 8.8% (n = 162) had inadequate digital literacy. The DHLI was directly and significantly correlated with age, subjective social perception, sense of coherence, and well-being (p < 0.001). The average digital literacy was higher in men than in women, in students older than 22 years, and in those with greater satisfaction with online information (p < 0.001). The DHLI Questionnaire is useful for measuring the digital literature about COVID-19 in Spanish-speaking countries. This study suggests gaps by gender and socioeconomic perception.