Role of eHealth Literacy in Exploring Attitude Towards the Covid-19 Vaccine

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Department of Family Medicine, University of Health Sciences, Gaziosmanpaşa Training and Research Hospital, İstanbul, Turkey

2 Gaziosmanpaşa Training and Research HoDepartment of Family Medicine, University of Health Sciences, Gaziosmanpaşa Training and Research Hospital, İstanbul, Turkey.

Abstract

Background and Objectives: Searching for health information online no longer attracts scientific attention, and eHealth literacy skills can influence health behaviors in the general population. This study aimed to assess the role of eHealth literacy on attitude towards Covid-19 Vaccine during the pandemic period.

Materials and Methods: Between 1 April 2021 and 1 July 2021, a single-center descriptive cross-sectional study including 422 participants was conducted face-to-face in the vaccine clinics of a pandemic hospital in Istanbul. The eHealth Literacy Scale (eHEALS) was used to determine the health promotion skills of the participants and to use the resources to protect their health. Attitudes towards the Covid-19 vaccine scale score, approaches and biases towards the Covid-19 vaccine were evaluated. Data were analyzed with the NCSS 10 (2015 Kaysville, USA) program.

Results: The eHealth literacy level of participants aged 30.89±8.54 years was positively related to the attitude towards Covid-19 Vaccine (r=0.151, p=0.002). The averages of eHEALS and attitude toward Covid-19 Vaccine scale scores were 3.65±0.81 out of 5 (73.0%) and 2.99±0.82 points, respectively. An eHealth literacy of about twice as high as men was observed in women (OR: 1,663, 95% CI = 1,088-2,540; P=0.019). University graduation was observed to be 7.7 times more effective in providing a better level of eHealth literacy (OR: 7.736, 95% CI = 3.284-18.224; p<0.001). Participants with higher eHealth literacy demonstrated a 2.2-fold better attitude score towards the Covid-19 Vaccine (OR: 2,222, 95% CI = 1,270-3,887; p=0.005). 

Conclusion: An increase in the level of an individual’s eHealth literacy translates to a more positive attitude toward vaccines.

Keywords

Correction Notic : A Correction notice to this article was published on 17 June 2024

Availability of data and materials: Data will be available upon request from the corresponding author

Conflict of interest: The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect

Consent for Publication: Not applicable, as no identifiable information is revealed in the publication

Ethical consideration:  The study was approved (Number 231) by the Clinical Research Ethics Committee of Gaziosmanpaşa Training and Research Hospital accepted the study protocol on 17/03/2021.All procedures comply with the principles of the Declaration of Helsinki and written informed consent was obtained from all participants in the study.

Financial Disclosure: The authors declare that this study did not receive financial support.

Authors' contributions: All authors have their own responsibilities in this review manuscript. All authors read the final draft of the manuscript and confirmed it.

References

1. Briones R. Harnessing the web: how e-health and eHealth literacy impact young adults' perceptions of online health information. Medicine 20. 2015;4(2).
https://doi.org/10.2196/med20.4327
PMid:26721292 PMCid:PMC4713906
 
2. Goetz T. The decision tree: taking control of your health in the new era of personalized medicine: Rodale; 2010.
 
3. Werts N, Hutton-Rogers L. Barriers to achieving eHealth literacy. American Journal of Health Sciences (AJHS). 2013;4(3):115-20.
https://doi.org/10.19030/ajhs.v4i3.8007
 
4. İlter H, Demir LS. Opinions of parents concerning childhood vaccine refusal and factors affecting vaccination in Konya. Gülhane Medical Journal. 2021;63(2):96-104.
https://doi.org/10.4274/gulhane.galenos.2020.1312
 
5. Bonanni P. Demographic impact of vaccination: a review. Vaccine. 1999;17:S120-S5.
https://doi.org/10.1016/S0264-410X(99)00306-0
PMid:10559545
 
6. Sallam M. COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy worldwide: a concise systematic review of vaccine acceptance rates. Vaccines. 2021;9(2):160.
https://doi.org/10.3390/vaccines9020160
PMid:33669441 PMCid:PMC7920465
 
7. Hernandez RG, Hagen L, Walker K, O'Leary H, Lengacher C. The COVID-19 vaccine social media infodemic: healthcare providers' missed dose in addressing misinformation and vaccine hesitancy. Human Vaccines & Immunotherapeutics. 2021;17(9):2962-4.
https://doi.org/10.1080/21645515.2021.1912551
PMid:33890838 PMCid:PMC8381841
 
8. Zheng H, Jiang S. Linking the pathway from exposure to online vaccine information to cyberchondria during the COVID-19 pandemic: A moderated mediation model. Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking. 2022.
https://doi.org/10.1089/cyber.2022.0045
PMid:36037024
 
9. Lo Moro G, Scaioli G, Bert F, Zacchero AL, Minutiello E, Siliquini R. Exploring the relationship between COVID-19 vaccine refusal and belief in fake news and conspiracy theories: a nationwide cross-sectional study in Italy. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 2022;19(15):9350.
https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19159350
PMid:35954711 PMCid:PMC9368531
 
10. Betsch C, Wicker S. E-health use, vaccination knowledge and perception of own risk: drivers of vaccination uptake in medical students. Vaccine. 2012;30(6):1143-8.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.vaccine.2011.12.021
PMid:22192850
 
11. Odone A, Gianfredi V, Sorbello S, Capraro M, Frascella B, Vigezzi GP, et al. The use of digital technologies to support vaccination programmes in Europe: state of the art and best practices from experts' interviews. Vaccines. 2021;9(10):1126.
https://doi.org/10.3390/vaccines9101126
PMid:34696234 PMCid:PMC8538238
 
12. Norman CD, Skinner HA. eHEALS: the eHealth literacy scale. Journal of medical Internet research. 2006;8(4):e507.
https://doi.org/10.2196/jmir.8.4.e27
PMid:17213046 PMCid:PMC1794004
 
13. Tamer Gencer Z. Analysis of validity and reliability of Norman and Skinner's e-Health scale literacy for cultural adaptation. Istanbul Universitesi Iletisim Fakultesi Dergisi. 2017(52).
 
14. Geniş B, Gürhan N, Koç M, Geniş Ç, Şirin B, Çırakoğlu O, et al. Development of perception and attitude scales related with COVID-19 pandemia. Pearson journal of social sciences-humanities. 2020;5(7):306-28.
 
15. Taber KS. The use of Cronbach's alpha when developing and reporting research instruments in science education. Research in science education. 2018;48:1273-96.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s11165-016-9602-2
 
16. Oztora S, Gokcen GB, Dagdeviren HN. Anti-Vaccination and Its Growing Importance. Eurasian Journal of Family Medicine. 2022;11(3):151-6.
https://doi.org/10.33880/ejfm.2022110302
 
17. Qin N, Shi S, Duan Y, Ma G, Li X, Shen Z, et al. Social Media Use, eHealth Literacy, Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices Toward COVID-19 Vaccination Among Chinese College Students in the Phase of Regular Epidemic Prevention and Control: A Cross-Sectional Survey. Frontiers in Public Health. 2022;9.
https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2021.754904
PMid:35155334 PMCid:PMC8829334
 
18. Elmaoğlu E, Sungur M, Yavaş Çelik M, Öztürk Çopur E. Bireylerde Covid-19 Kontrolü Algısı ile Covid-19 Aşısına Karşı Tutum Arasındaki İlişki. Journal of Society & Social Work. 2021;32(5).
https://doi.org/10.33417/tsh.978616
 
19. Paul E, Steptoe A, Fancourt D. Attitudes towards vaccines and intention to vaccinate against COVID-19: Implications for public health communications. The Lancet Regional Health-Europe. 2021;1:100012.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lanepe.2020.100012
PMid:33954296 PMCid:PMC7834475
 
20. Durmuş A, Akbolat M, Amarat M. COVID-19 Aşı Okuryazarlığı Ölçeği'nin Türkçe geçerlilik ve güvenirliliği. Cukurova Medical Journal. 2021;46(2):732-41.
https://doi.org/10.17826/cumj.870432
 
21. Mitsutake S, Shibata A, Ishii K, Okazaki K, Oka K. Developing Japanese version of the eHealth literacy scale (eHEALS). [Nihon koshu eisei zasshi] Japanese journal of public health. 2011;58(5):361-71.
 
22. Wang C, Wu X, Qi H, editors. A comprehensive analysis of EHealth literacy research focuses and trends. Healthcare; 2021: MDPI.
https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare10010066
PMid:35052230 PMCid:PMC8775877
 
23. Dilek U, Kemal İ. Bireylerin E-Sağlik Okuryazarlik Düzeyinin E-Nabiz Sisteminin Kullanimina Yönelik Algilarina Etkisi. Hacettepe Sağlık İdaresi Dergisi.25(1):69-86.
 
24. Shekofteh M, Ghaedi R, Valizadeh-haghi S, Baghestani A. EHealth literacy among Healthcare Students: The Effect of Demographic Variables. Journal of Health Literacy. 2022;7(2):37-45.
 
25. Murphy J, Vallières F, Bentall RP, Shevlin M, McBride O, Hartman TK, et al. Psychological characteristics associated with COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy and resistance in Ireland and the United Kingdom. Nature communications. 2021;12(1):1-15.
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-020-20226-9
PMid:33397962 PMCid:PMC7782692
 
26. Kaplan AK, Sahin MK, Parildar H, Adadan Guvenc I. The willingness to accept the COVID‐19 vaccine and affecting factors among healthcare professionals: a cross‐sectional study in turkey. International Journal of Clinical Practice. 2021;75(7):e14226.
https://doi.org/10.1111/ijcp.14226
PMCid:PMC8250279
 
27. Li S, Wang Y, Xue J, Zhao N, Zhu T. The impact of COVID-19 epidemic declaration on psychological consequences: a study on active Weibo users. International journal of environmental research and public health. 2020;17(6):2032.
https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17062032
PMid:32204411 PMCid:PMC7143846
 
28. Başpınar MM, Tanımlı E, Depreli SG, Aktaş HK, Aktaş R, Basat O. A Comparison of the Seasonal Influenza Vaccination Rates and Related Factors. Medical Bulletin of Haseki/Haseki Tip Bulteni. 2020;58(3).
https://doi.org/10.4274/haseki.galenos.2020.59
Journal of Health Literacy
Volume 8, Issue 3 - Serial Number 31
September 2023
Pages 34-42

Files

Share

How to cite

Statistics