Digital health literacy had uneven links with student health outcomes
Among students in education beyond secondary school, stronger digital health literacy was associated with several favorable outcomes. Links with depression and overall well-being were inconclusive, and the studies cannot establish causation.
Based on the published abstract. The full paper may contain additional methods, results and limitations.
The 30-second takeaway
Students with stronger digital health literacy, meaning their ability to use digital health information, tended to report better health knowledge and some favorable emotional and behavioral outcomes. However, relationships with depression, overall well-being and healthy living were not straightforward. These observational associations do not show that improving literacy would cause better health.
All included studies were cross-sectional, limiting conclusions about direction and causation. Different assessment tools also make literacy scores difficult to compare, so the abstract's score ranges do not provide a single shared benchmark.
Where associations were more consistent
The review linked digital health literacy with health knowledge, confidence in one's ability, health attitudes and disease prevention practices. It also described associations with more positive emotions and fewer negative emotions, without establishing that literacy produced them.
Where the picture remained mixed
Relationships with overall well-being and depression were inconclusive. Health care use, social media engagement and healthy living depended more on context. These distinctions matter because favorable findings for selected outcomes do not imply improvement across student health generally.
The original publication
eHealth Literacy and Its Outcomes Among Postsecondary Students: Systematic Review.
Li Q, Fang F, Zhang Y et al.
J Med Internet Res · 2025
- PubMed ID
- 40601925
- Record checked
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