JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

Electronic health literacy is a highly important competence in dealing with health information from the internet. Especially, the COVID-19 pandemic led to a health information overload, called an ‘Infodemic’. Persons who are affected by the post COVID-19 condition are likewise faced with enormous amounts of information and need skills to differentiate between reliable and unreliable information.

Objective:

In this study, we aimed to evaluate the psychometric properties of the most common used measurement instrument for assessing eHealth Literacy in individuals suffering from the post COVID-19 condition.

Methods:

A cross-sectional study was conducted from January to May 2022. In total, 330 participants were included in the statistical analyses. The assessment consisted of the German Revised Version of the eHealth Literacy Scale, health as well as internet related variables, sociodemographic data, and post COVID-19 related medical data. We deployed confirmatory factor analyses, correlational analyses, and tests of measurement invariance to determine the validity and reliability of the instrument.

Results:

A two-factorial model reached an excellent model fit (comparative fit index: 0.99, Tucker Lewis index: 0.99, root mean square error of approximation: 0.036, standardized root mean square residual: 0.038). Both factors reached high reliability coefficients (Cronbach’s Alpha of 0.90 and 0.86, respectively). Convergent validity was confirmed by significant correlations with variables assessing the usage of the internet as source of (health) information. Further, significant relations with health status, quality of life, and internal health locus of control could confirm criterion validity of the instrument. The two-factorial model measured equivalent over different sociodemographic groups regarding gender, age, and educational level providing evidence for its measurement invariance.

Conclusions:

The German Revised eHealth Literacy Scale is a valid and reliable instrument for assessing eHealth Literacy in individuals affected by the post COVID-19 condition. Measurement invariance could be confirmed and thus allows the interpretation of differences regarding gender, age, and education level. Given the high likelihood that individuals suffering from post COVID-19 condition will be confronted with misinformation on the Internet, eHealth Literacy is a core competency that is highly relevant in this context, in both research and clinical practice.