International Medical School, Management and Science University, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Department of Public Health, The Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto Institute of Science and Technology, Karachi, Pakistan.
Front Public Health. 2022 Sep 14;10:998272. doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2022.998272. eCollection 2022.
Misinformation has had a negative impact upon the global COVID-19 vaccination program. High-income and middle-income earners typically have better access to technology and health facilities than those in lower-income groups. This creates a rich-poor divide in Digital Health Literacy (DHL), where low-income earners have low DHL resulting in higher COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy. Therefore, this cross-sectional study was undertaken to assess the impact of health information seeking behavior on digital health literacy related to COVID-19 among low-income earners in Selangor, Malaysia.
A quantitative cross-sectional study was conducted conveniently among 381 individuals from the low-income group in Selangor, Malaysia. The remote data collection (RDC) method was used to gather data. Validated interviewer-rated questionnaires were used to collect data phone call. Respondents included in the study were 18 years and older. A normality of numerical variables were assessed using Shapiro-Wilk test. Univariate analysis of all variables was performed, and results were presented as means, mean ranks, frequencies, and percentages. Mann-Whitney U test or Kruskal Wallis H test was applied for the comparison of DHL and health information seeking behavior with characteristics of the participants. Multivariate linear regression models were applied using DHL as dependent variable and health information seeking behavior as independent factors, adjusting for age, gender, marital status, educational status, employment status, and household income.
The mean age of the study participants was 38.16 ± 14.40 years ranging from 18 to 84 years. The vast majority (94.6%) of participants stated that information seeking regarding COVID-19 was easy or very easy. Around 7 percent of the respondents cited reading information about COVID-19 on the internet as very difficult. The higher mean rank of DHL search, content, reliability, relevance, and privacy was found among participants who were widowed, had primary education, or unemployed. An inverse relationship was found between overall DHL and confidence in the accuracy of the information on the internet regarding COVID-19 (β = -2.01, 95% CI = -2.22 to -1.79).
It is important to provide support to lower-income demographics to assist access to high-quality health information, including less educated, unemployed, and widowed populations. This can improve overall DHL.
错误信息对全球 COVID-19 疫苗接种计划产生了负面影响。高收入和中等收入者通常比低收入群体更容易获得技术和医疗设施。这在数字健康素养（DHL）方面造成了贫富差距，低收入者的 DHL 较低，导致对 COVID-19 疫苗的犹豫程度更高。因此，进行了这项横断面研究，以评估在马来西亚雪兰莪州，寻求健康信息的行为对低收入者与 COVID-19 相关的数字健康素养的影响。
在马来西亚雪兰莪州的低收入群体中进行了一项方便的定量横断面研究。使用远程数据收集（RDC）方法收集数据。使用经过验证的访谈者评定问卷通过电话收集数据。纳入研究的受访者年龄在 18 岁及以上。使用 Shapiro-Wilk 检验评估数值变量的正态性。对所有变量进行单变量分析，并以平均值、平均秩、频率和百分比表示结果。应用 Mann-Whitney U 检验或 Kruskal Wallis H 检验比较 DHL 和健康信息寻求行为与参与者特征。使用 DHL 作为因变量，健康信息寻求行为作为自变量，调整年龄、性别、婚姻状况、教育程度、就业状况和家庭收入，应用多元线性回归模型。
研究参与者的平均年龄为 38.16 ± 14.40 岁，年龄范围为 18 至 84 岁。绝大多数（94.6%）参与者表示，获取有关 COVID-19 的信息很容易或非常容易。约有 7%的受访者表示，在互联网上阅读有关 COVID-19 的信息非常困难。在丧偶、接受过小学教育或失业的参与者中，DHL 搜索、内容、可靠性、相关性和隐私的平均秩较高。总体 DHL 与对互联网上有关 COVID-19 的信息准确性的信心呈负相关（β=-2.01，95%CI=-2.22 至-1.79）。
为帮助获取高质量的健康信息，包括教育程度较低、失业和丧偶的人群，为低收入人群提供支持很重要。这可以提高整体 DHL。
