Investigating the Influence of Factors Effective in Using Social Media on Improving E-Health Literacy of Citizens in Crisis

Due to the prevalence of coronavirus, the role of media, especially social media, to inform about and increase health literacy is very important. The objective of this study was to investigate the influence of factors effective in the use of social media on the level of e-health literacy of citizens in crisis.

In this descriptive-analytical study, 384 patients in Kermanshah province were selected using Morgan table. For this purpose, a two-part researcher-made questionnaire was used which included a demographic section and a specific section (using 5 variables) with 40 questions. The items in this questionnaire were scored using a 5-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree).

The findings revealed that 43.1% of the participants believed Corona had a great impact on their job and more than 40% of the participants also stated they obtained health information through the Internet. The results also showed that the relationship between the variables was significant (P <0.05).

The highest correlation was observed between accessibility and popularity variables. This suggests that increasing access to social media will enhance the popularity of these media. The information obtained in this study demonstrated that up-to-dateness of media, accessibility, trust in social media, perceived value, and popularity are among the factors effective in the impact of social media on e-health literacy.