Allah Sabreen Abeed, Hassan Sahar, Ajaleen Majd, Jamhour Malak, Al-Sharif Ranin
Palestinian Medical Relief Society, Ramallah, occupied Palestinian territory (oPt), Palestine.
Master program of Women's Health, Faculty of Pharmacy, Nursing and Health Professions, Birzeit University, Birzeit, occupied Palestinian territory (oPt), Palestine.
BMC Public Health. 2025 Apr 26;25(1):1561. doi: 10.1186/s12889-025-22825-x.
Electronic health (e-health) literacy assists adolescents in seeking accurate and valid information. In this study, we aim to understand e-health literacy among Palestinian adolescents, by exploring their skills and online information-seeking strategies and understanding the socio-demographic influences.
A qualitative study was conducted through seven semi-structured, face-to-face focus group discussions with 52 adolescents aged 15-19 from five districts in the West Bank, occupied Palestinian territory (oPt). Participants were selected using maximum variation sampling. Data was collected from January to March 2024, with each focus group consisting of 6 to 9 participants. Data were analyzed using a thematic analysis approach.
E-health literacy among Palestinian adolescents is influenced by individual, system, and interaction aspects. Individually, set of skills, including the ability to recognize misleading content, is a key milestone. At the system level, adolescents prefer direct communication with experts and rely on search engines like Google, verifying information through various strategies. Political instability and economic challenges shape how adolescents' perceptions of health information and their interaction with online health resources, influencing how they engage with and trust digital health information. Our results were presented in four main themes: Adolescents' knowledge and influencing factors, the internet, its platforms, and available resources, approaches and strategies for seeking health information online, and challenges and the impact of limited E-health literacy on adolescents.
Palestinian adolescents are aware of the skills needed to navigate online health information, employing various strategies to read and verify information through different approaches. However, their e-health literacy and access are shaped by personal factors, technology-related challenges, and an unstable political environment.
电子健康素养有助于青少年获取准确有效的信息。在本研究中，我们旨在通过探索巴勒斯坦青少年的技能和在线信息搜索策略，并了解社会人口学影响因素，来了解他们的电子健康素养。
通过与来自巴勒斯坦被占领土（oPt）约旦河西岸五个地区的52名15 - 19岁青少年进行七次半结构化面对面焦点小组讨论，开展了一项定性研究。采用最大差异抽样法选取参与者。数据收集于2024年1月至3月，每个焦点小组由6至9名参与者组成。使用主题分析法对数据进行分析。
巴勒斯坦青少年的电子健康素养受到个人、系统和互动等方面的影响。在个人层面，包括识别误导性内容能力在内的一系列技能是一个关键里程碑。在系统层面，青少年更喜欢与专家直接沟通，并依赖谷歌等搜索引擎，通过各种策略核实信息。政治不稳定和经济挑战塑造了青少年对健康信息的认知以及他们与在线健康资源的互动方式，影响着他们与数字健康信息的接触和信任程度。我们的研究结果呈现为四个主要主题：青少年的知识及影响因素、互联网及其平台与可用资源、在线寻求健康信息的方法和策略，以及电子健康素养有限对青少年的挑战和影响。
巴勒斯坦青少年意识到在线获取健康信息所需的技能，会采用各种策略通过不同方法阅读和核实信息。然而，他们的电子健康素养和获取信息的机会受到个人因素、技术相关挑战以及不稳定政治环境的影响。
