Association Between eHealth Literacy and Health Education Experiences and Confidence Regarding Online Health Information Among Nurses

Abstract

This cross-sectional study examined nurses' eHealth literacy, health education experiences, and confidence in health education regarding online health information and explored their association. A self-administered questionnaire was distributed among 442 nurses in Japan from September 2020 to March 2021. The survey items were the Japanese version of the eHealth Literacy Scale, health education experiences and confidence in health education regarding online health information, and sociodemographic variables. The final analysis comprised 263 responses. Nurses' mean eHealth literacy was 21.89. Most nurses had never received questions regarding online health information in search (66.9%), evaluation (85.2%), and utilization (81.0%) from their patients. Further, most nurses lacked experience (84.0%–89.7%) and confidence (94.7%–97.3%) in health education regarding online health information. The factor associated with having health education experience regarding online health information was eHealth literacy (adjusted odds ratio, 1.08; 95% confidence interval, 1.02–1.15). Factors associated with having confidence in health education regarding online health information were eHealth literacy (adjusted odds ratio, 1.10; 95% confidence interval, 1.10–1.43) and having learning experiences regarding eHealth literacy (adjusted odds ratio, 7.36; 95% confidence interval, 2.06–26.39). Our findings suggest the importance of enhancing eHealth literacy among nurses and a proactive approach by nurses to improve patients' eHealth literacy.