Running Head: HEALTH AND DIGITAL LITERACY 1

Health and Digital Literacy

Student’s Name

Institutional Affiliation
HEALTH AND DIGITAL LITERACY 2

Health and Digital Literacy

The widespread availability of health-related data on the internet suggests the critical

nature of electronic health literacy expertise for healthcare consumers. Most of the consumers

lack succinct knowledge to obtain online health information following their literacy levels. Due

to alleviated eHealth literacy, variations in the ability of health consumers to obtain and

apply eHealth information prevail. There are myriad forms of digital health initiatives accessible

to patients and the community, but multiple aspects influence their aptitude to connect with and

enroll in them. This effect is a result of the literacy levels which are deemed to significantly

affect the individuals’ health-related conclusions and health results. It is therefore imperative for

these consumers to acquire electronic health knowledge for them to be able to pursue and

appreciate online health information. Also, they will be able to apply the acquired knowledge in

making prudent decisions about their health (Park et al., 2016). Online health information can be

incredibly beneficial in that it enables us to make critical health decisions. Health information, on

the other hand, can be perplexing and overwhelming. It is critical to be able to appraise the

eminence of the abundance of evidence available through the internet, journals, and other

sources when provided with such materials.

The Internet allows anyone to access health information, but consumers' capacity to

interpret it varies. Some consumers struggle to discover and apprehend online health information

due to a lack of eHealth literacy. Also, the quality of eHealth information differs, with some sites

being quite poor. Thus, distinguishing between standard and low-quality online health platforms

is crucial for customers seeking detailed, genuine, and dependable high-quality eHealth facts.

Voluminous consumers report lacking eHealth mastery abilities to successfully use online health

information. This means that customers are often unable to invent and apply internet health
HEALTH AND DIGITAL LITERACY 3

material. Norman and Skinner suggest that the gap amid internet health information and

consumer access should be identified and addressed (Park et al., 2016). Health care practitioners

must first understand the current consumer eHealth literacy weaknesses to successfully address

and rectify proficiency gaps in the framework of eHealth service provision. Preliminary studies

on knowledge and health have largely concentrated on health skills in connection to paper-based

materials rather than electronic-based surroundings. Therefore, digital health literacy is

significant to the consumer when addressing the prevalent lifestyle behaviors and diseases to

eliminate the health disparities as much information is found online. Also, with the current

technological inventions, they will be able to obtain and make proper decisions since health

figures are suggested to steadily augment in the technology epoch (O’connor et al., 2016).
HEALTH AND DIGITAL LITERACY 4

Digital inclusion as a health literacy determinant

Nurses and other professionals can be helpful to patients in comprehending complicated

health information by concentrating on eHealth literacy. The Patient Engagement Framework is

a framework for healthcare institutions to leverage eHealth tools and resources to establish and

strengthen their patient engagement initiatives. The very first step toward health literacy is

effective communication, which can extend beyond standard oral and written communication.

After the information is presented through patient engagement, the following step is knowledge
HEALTH AND DIGITAL LITERACY 5

affirmation. Physicians can only accomplish only one thing to enhance health literacy which is

the ability to affirm comprehension. Creativity is also vital as the consumers can figure out the

medication engagement, surgical procedures among the major health scenarios. Finally,

consumers can confirm complete comprehension by clarifying and interrogating practitioners.

Incorporating open-ended questions and fostering question-asking will help to promote

discussion and personalize the knowledge. The frequent application of these strategies will assist

the consumers in assessing their health literacy and making decisions on their health conditions.

The Importance of Digital Literacy

Numerous studies assess patients' literacy, numeracy, and health literacy abilities, as well

as their perceptions of healthcare. According to the Center for Diseases Control and Prevention,

(CDC), questionnaires are developed with a supplemental set of questions that aim at assessing

the providers’ actions to nurture and improve the patient’s health literacy (Measuring health

literacy skills and experiences, 2021). Health literacy is dependent on individual skills and the

complexity of health information. Upon understanding the presented or communicated health

information, the patient is termed to have improved their health literacy.

Owing to diminished eHealth literacy, discrepancies in health consumers' aptitude to

receive and implement eHealth information persists. There are copious kinds of digital health
HEALTH AND DIGITAL LITERACY 6

initiatives presented to patients and the community, but their capacity to connect with and enroll

in them is influenced by a variety of circumstances. The primary objective of Healthy People

2020 is to reduce inequities in health and to increase health mastery. eHealth literacy is a critical

element of health literacy since online health information continues to grow in popularity in the

information age. Detecting and analyzing the eHealth literacy gauge of health consumers is a

critical first step toward developing methods for enhancing their eHealth literacy.

References
HEALTH AND DIGITAL LITERACY 7

Measuring health literacy skills and experiences. (2021, June 22). Retrieved from

https://www.cdc.gov/healthliteracy/researchevaluate/measure-peoples-skills-

experiences.html

O’connor, S., Hanlon, P., O’donnell, C. A., Garcia, S., Glanville, J., & Mair, F. S. (2016).

Understanding factors affecting patient and public engagement and recruitment to digital

health interventions: a systematic review of qualitative studies. BMC medical informatics

and decision making, 16(1), 1-15. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s12911-016-

0359-3

Park, H., Cormier, E., Gordon, G., & Baeg, J. H. (2016). Identifying health consumers’ eHealth

literacy to decrease disparities in accessing eHealth information. CIN: Computers,

Informatics, Nursing, 34(2), 71-76.

https://journals.lww.com/cinjournal/fulltext/2016/02000/Identifying_Health_Consumers_

_eHealth_Literacy_to.4.aspx