Digital health literacy of Swiss-German parents : results from DIGE, a study on parental utilization of digital child health information

Juvalta, Sibylle; Jaks, Rebecca; Robin, Dominik; Baumann, Isabel; Dratva, Julia

Publication type:	Conference paper
Type of review:	Peer review (abstract)
Title:	Digital health literacy of Swiss-German parents : results from DIGE, a study on parental utilization of digital child health information
Authors:	Juvalta, Sibylle Jaks, Rebecca Robin, Dominik Baumann, Isabel Dratva, Julia
Conference details:	11th European Public Health Conference, Ljubljana, Slovenia, 28 November - 1 December 2018
Issue Date:	2018
Language:	English
Subject (DDC):	302: Social interaction 610: Medicine and health
Abstract:	Background: Little is known on parental use of digital media when it comes to children’s health. We investigated parents’ utilization of digital media in this context and eHealth literacy. Methods: A random sample of parents with children age 0-2.5 yrs. received an online and paper questionnaire on use of digital media on child health, child and parental socio- demographic and health and the German eHealth Literacy Scale (eHEALS). Descriptive and multivariate analyses on associated factors and the association between eHealth literacy and use of digital media for information on child health issues are foreseen. Results: Participation rate was 40% (394 online, 338 on paper). Preliminary results relate to online sample: 337 mothers and 57 fathers with mean age 35.8 sd 3.7 and 38.2 sd 6.4, respectively. Children’s mean age was 14.7 months, sd 7.1 and number of children 1.6, sd 0.7. First analyses of online data indicate a medium to high digital health literacy with a mean total score of 29.29 (sd 5.7, range 8-40, item 1-5). Whereas participants agreed to have the skills needed to evaluate the health resources (mean 4.23, sd 0.8) and to be able to distinguish high quality health resources from low quality health resources (mean 3.91. sd 0.87), they felt less confident to use information from the internet to make health decisions (mean 2.97, sd 1.1). Preliminary data show differences in digital health literacy by income and education level. Further analyses in full sample cover factors: age, sex, frequency of use, child health status and association between eHealth literacy and use of digital child health information. Conclusions: Swiss parents show a medium to high digital literacy comparable to other European countries. Lowest scores are found for information appraisal and confidence in applying digital information in health decisions. Promotion of parents’ eHealth literacy may minimize disparities and inequities in accessing health information. Main Messages: Parents are confident in seeking digital health information, but not in appraising and applying information in health decisions. Promotion of eHealth literacy may reduce socioeconomic inequality in access to health information.
URI:	https://digitalcollection.zhaw.ch/handle/11475/13824
Fulltext version:	Published version
License (according to publishing contract):	Licence according to publishing contract
Departement:	School of Health Sciences
Organisational Unit:	Institute of Public Health (IPH)
Appears in collections:	Publikationen Gesundheit

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Juvalta, S., Jaks, R., Robin, D., Baumann, I., & Dratva, J. (2018). Digital health literacy of Swiss-German parents : results from DIGE, a study on parental utilization of digital child health information. 11th European Public Health Conference, Ljubljana, Slovenia, 28 November - 1 December 2018.

Juvalta, S. et al. (2018) ‘Digital health literacy of Swiss-German parents : results from DIGE, a study on parental utilization of digital child health information’, in 11th European Public Health Conference, Ljubljana, Slovenia, 28 November - 1 December 2018.

S. Juvalta, R. Jaks, D. Robin, I. Baumann, and J. Dratva, “Digital health literacy of Swiss-German parents : results from DIGE, a study on parental utilization of digital child health information,” in 11th European Public Health Conference, Ljubljana, Slovenia, 28 November - 1 December 2018, 2018.

JUVALTA, Sibylle, Rebecca JAKS, Dominik ROBIN, Isabel BAUMANN und Julia DRATVA, 2018. Digital health literacy of Swiss-German parents : results from DIGE, a study on parental utilization of digital child health information. In: 11th European Public Health Conference, Ljubljana, Slovenia, 28 November - 1 December 2018. Conference paper. 2018

Juvalta, Sibylle, Rebecca Jaks, Dominik Robin, Isabel Baumann, and Julia Dratva. 2018. “Digital Health Literacy of Swiss-German Parents : Results from DIGE, a Study on Parental Utilization of Digital Child Health Information.” Conference paper. In 11th European Public Health Conference, Ljubljana, Slovenia, 28 November - 1 December 2018.

Juvalta, Sibylle, et al. “Digital Health Literacy of Swiss-German Parents : Results from DIGE, a Study on Parental Utilization of Digital Child Health Information.” 11th European Public Health Conference, Ljubljana, Slovenia, 28 November - 1 December 2018, 2018.