Digital health literacy among undergraduate nursing students in China: associations with health lifestyles and psychological resilience

• Published in: BMC medical education 2024-10, Vol.24 (1), p.1139-11, Article 1139
• Main Authors: Liu, Linfeng, Fu, Mengxue, Wu, Jijun, Wang, Hongyan, Zhao, Jiaorong, Chen, Pei, Cao, Jun, Zhang, Wen, Lin, Qin, Li, Ling
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Academic achievement; Adult; China; Clinical medicine; College students; Cross-Sectional Studies; Curricula; Decision making; Digital health literacy; Digital technology; Education, Nursing, Baccalaureate; Educational aspects; Educational Planning; Educational research; Educational Strategies; Empowerment; Female; Health Behavior; Health education; Health lifestyles; Health Literacy; Healthy Lifestyle; Humans; Life Style; Lifestyles; Male; Medical education; Mental health; Nursing; Nursing care; Nursing education; Nursing Students; Patients; Personal health; Professionals; Psychological aspects; Psychological research; Psychological resilience; Resilience (Personality trait); Resilience (Psychology); Resilience, Psychological; Sample size; Skills; Social aspects; Stress; Students; Students, Nursing - psychology; Surveys and Questionnaires; Undergraduates; Volunteerism; Young Adult
• ISSN: 1472-6920; 1472-6920
• DOI: 10.1186/s12909-024-06075-w

Digital health literacy (DHL) is pivotal for individuals to access trustworthy health information and make informed decisions, closely intertwined with health behaviors and psychological resilience-these factors collectively shape an individual's approach to health management. Despite extensive research on digital health literacy in broader populations, the specific dynamics of digital health literacy in relation to health behaviors and psychological resilience among undergraduate nursing students in China remain understudied, highlighting a gap that this research endeavors to address. This study aims to assess the levels of digital health literacy among undergraduate nursing students in China, and to explore its association with health lifestyles and psychological resilience, which are considered influential factors. Employing a descriptive cross-sectional research design, eligible Chinese nursing undergraduates were surveyed from June to October 2023. This study recruited a total of 418 undergraduate nursing students. After excluding 11 students on leave, 407 students participated in questionnaire completion and submission. The College Students' Digital Health Literacy Scale, Healthy Lifestyle Assessment Scale and The Psychological Resilience Scale were used in this study. The mean scores for digital health literacy, health lifestyles, and psychological resilience were 74.78 ± 8.44, 127.14 ± 11.22, and 79.21 ± 11.02, respectively. Pearson correlation analysis results indicated that the correlations between digital health literacy and both health lifestyles (r = 0.707, P