Effective use of online COVID-19 information and eHealth information literacy among US university students.

HEALTH literacy; INTERNET searching; SELF-evaluation; HEALTH; UNIVERSITIES & colleges; QUESTIONNAIRES; UNDERGRADUATES; INFORMATION resources; ANXIETY; DESCRIPTIVE statistics; SELF medication; TELEMEDICINE; INFORMATION literacy; COLLEGE students; COVID-19; SOCIAL distancing; INFORMATION-seeking behavior; PSYCHOSOCIAL factors

Objective: This study aimed to understand students' ability to search the Internet for COVID-19 information and apply it to evaluate the veracity of specific statements. Participants: Undergraduate students (N = 239) at a US university completed a Web-based questionnaire in September–October 2020. Methods: The questionnaire included self-reported measures of online health information literacy, COVID-19 knowledge, and anxiety along with exercises on searching and evaluating COVID information online. Results: Students reported moderate levels of information literacy (76%, 3.8 out of 5), but did not perform as well while searching the Internet for COVID-19 information (average accuracy: 65%, 10.5 out of 16 points). Students with higher Internet exercise scores reported higher GPA, higher household income, and liberal political views, and were more likely to follow public health measures [ie, social distancing, mask wearing, and not self-medicating with (hydroxy)chloroquine]. Conclusions: University students may overestimate their information literacy while struggling with searching the Internet for accurate COVID-19 information. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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