Maitz Emanuel, Maitz Katharina, Sendlhofer Gerald, Wolfsberger Christina, Mautner Selma, Kamolz Lars-Peter, Gasteiger-Klicpera Barbara
Division of Plastic, Aesthetic and Reconstructive Surgery, Department of Surgery, Medical University of Graz, Graz, Austria.
Inclusive Education Unit, Institute of Professional Development in Education, University of Graz, Graz, Austria.
J Med Internet Res. 2020 May 26;22(5):e16281. doi: 10.2196/16281.
Many children and adolescents are surrounded by smartphones, tablets, and computers and know how to search the internet for almost any information. However, very few of them know how to select proper information from reliable sources. This can become a problem when health issues are concerned, where it is vital to identify incorrect or misleading information. The competence to critically evaluate digital information on health issues is of increasing importance for adolescents.
The aim of this study was to assess how children and adolescents rate their internet-based health literacy and how their actual literacy differs from their ratings. In addition, there was a question on how their search performance is related to their self-efficacy. To evaluate these questions, a criteria-based analysis of the quality of the websites they visited was performed. Finally, the possibility to increase their internet-based health literacy in a 3-day workshop was explored.
A workshop with a focus on health literacy was attended by 14 children and adolescents in an Austrian secondary school. After prior assessments (Culture Fair Intelligence Test, revised German version; Reading Speed and Reading Comprehension Test for Grades 6 to 12, German; electronic health literacy scale [eHEALS]; and General Self-Efficacy Scale, Reversed Version, German), the students were asked to perform an internet-based search on a health-related issue. Browser histories and screenshots of all internet searches were gathered, clustered, and analyzed. After the workshop, the health literacy of the students was assessed again by using the eHEALS.
The 14 students opened a total of 85 homepages, but only eight of these homepages were rated as good or fair by two experts (independent rating) based on specific criteria. The analysis showed that the students judged their own internet-based health literacy much higher than the actual value, and students who had rated themselves better did not visit websites of high quality. Internet-based health literacy correlated significantly with the self-efficacy of the students (r=0.794, P=.002).
Our study showed that it is possible to draw the attention of students to critical aspects of internet search and to slightly improve their search competence in a workshop. Targeted improvement of health literacy is urgently required, and students need special instruction for this purpose. Further investigations in this area with larger sets of data, which could be feasible with the help of a computer program, are urgently needed.
许多儿童和青少年被智能手机、平板电脑和电脑环绕，并且知道如何在互联网上搜索几乎任何信息。然而，他们中很少有人知道如何从可靠来源选择恰当的信息。当涉及健康问题时，这可能会成为一个问题，因为识别不正确或误导性信息至关重要。对青少年而言，批判性评估关于健康问题的数字信息的能力愈发重要。
本研究的目的是评估儿童和青少年如何评价他们基于互联网的健康素养，以及他们的实际素养与自我评价之间的差异。此外，还有一个关于他们的搜索表现与自我效能感如何相关的问题。为了评估这些问题，对他们访问的网站质量进行了基于标准的分析。最后，探讨了在为期三天的工作坊中提高他们基于互联网的健康素养的可能性。
奥地利一所中学的14名儿童和青少年参加了一个以健康素养为重点的工作坊。在进行了先前的评估（文化公平智力测验，修订德文版；6至12年级阅读速度与阅读理解测验，德文；电子健康素养量表[eHEALS]；以及一般自我效能量表，反向版，德文）之后，要求学生就一个与健康相关的问题进行基于互联网的搜索。收集、聚类并分析了所有互联网搜索的浏览器历史记录和屏幕截图。工作坊结束后，再次使用eHEALS评估学生的健康素养。
这14名学生总共打开了85个主页，但根据特定标准，其中只有8个主页被两名专家（独立评级）评为良好或中等。分析表明，学生对自己基于互联网的健康素养的评价远高于实际水平，且自我评价较高的学生并没有访问高质量的网站。基于互联网的健康素养与学生的自我效能感显著相关（r = 0.794，P = 0.002）。
我们的研究表明，在工作坊中可以吸引学生关注互联网搜索的关键方面，并略微提高他们的搜索能力。迫切需要有针对性地提高健康素养，学生为此需要接受专门指导。急需在该领域借助计算机程序进行更大规模数据集的进一步研究。
