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Coronavirus-Related Health Literacy: A Cross-Sectional Study in Adults during the COVID-19 Infodemic in Germany

Author

Listed:
  • Orkan Okan

    (Interdisciplinary Centre for Health Literacy Research, Faculty of Educational Science, Bielefeld University, 33615 Bielefeld, Germany)

  • Torsten Michael Bollweg

    (Centre for Prevention and Intervention in Childhood and Adolescence, Faculty of Educational Science, Bielefeld University, 33615 Bielefeld, Germany)

  • Eva-Maria Berens

    (School of Public Health, Interdisciplinary Centre for Health Literacy Research, Bielefeld University, 33615 Bielefeld, Germany)

  • Klaus Hurrelmann

    (Department of Public Health and Education, Hertie School of Governance, 10117 Berlin, Germany)

  • Ullrich Bauer

    (Interdisciplinary Centre for Health Literacy Research, Centre for Prevention and Intervention in Childhood and Adolescence, Faculty of Educational Science, Bielefeld University, 33615 Bielefeld, Germany)

  • Doris Schaeffer

    (Interdisciplinary Centre for Health Literacy Research, School of Public Health, Bielefeld University, 33615 Bielefeld, Germany)

Abstract

There is an “infodemic” associated with the COVID-19 pandemic—an overabundance of valid and invalid information. Health literacy is the ability to access, understand, appraise, and apply health information, making it crucial for navigating coronavirus and COVID-19 information environments. A cross-sectional representative study of participants ≥ 16 years in Germany was conducted using an online survey. A coronavirus-related health literacy measure was developed (HLS-COVID-Q22). Internal consistency was very high (α = 0.940; ρ = 0.891) and construct validity suggests a sufficient model fit, making HLS-COVID-Q22 a feasible tool for assessing coronavirus-related health literacy in population surveys. While 49.9% of our sample had sufficient levels of coronavirus-related health literacy, 50.1% had “problematic” (15.2%) or “inadequate” (34.9%) levels. Although the overall level of health literacy is high, a vast number of participants report difficulties dealing with coronavirus and COVID-19 information. The participants felt well informed about coronavirus, but 47.8% reported having difficulties judging whether they could trust media information on COVID-19. Confusion about coronavirus information was significantly higher among those who had lower health literacy. This calls for targeted public information campaigns and promotion of population-based health literacy for better navigation of information environments during the infodemic, identification of disinformation, and decision-making based on reliable and trustworthy information.

Suggested Citation

  • Orkan Okan & Torsten Michael Bollweg & Eva-Maria Berens & Klaus Hurrelmann & Ullrich Bauer & Doris Schaeffer, 2020. "Coronavirus-Related Health Literacy: A Cross-Sectional Study in Adults during the COVID-19 Infodemic in Germany," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(15), pages 1-20, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:17:y:2020:i:15:p:5503-:d:391920
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Tetine Sentell & Sandra Vamos & Orkan Okan, 2020. "Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Health Literacy Research Around the World: More Important Than Ever in a Time of COVID-19," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(9), pages 1-13, April.
    2. Klaus Eichler & Simon Wieser & Urs Brügger, 2009. "The costs of limited health literacy: a systematic review," International Journal of Public Health, Springer;Swiss School of Public Health (SSPH+), vol. 54(5), pages 313-324, October.
    3. Hiep T. Nguyen & Binh N. Do & Khue M. Pham & Giang B. Kim & Hoa T.B. Dam & Trung T. Nguyen & Thao T.P. Nguyen & Yen H. Nguyen & Kristine Sørensen & Andrew Pleasant & Tuyen Van Duong, 2020. "Fear of COVID-19 Scale—Associations of Its Scores with Health Literacy and Health-Related Behaviors among Medical Students," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(11), pages 1-14, June.
    4. Darrin Baines & Robert J R Elliott, 2020. "Defining misinformation, disinformation and malinformation: An urgent need for clarity during the COVID-19 infodemic," Discussion Papers 20-06, Department of Economics, University of Birmingham.
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