Decoding the Complexity of Online Health Information: Dynamics between eHealth and Media Literacy (Preprint)

UNSTRUCTURED Contemporary online health information is no longer explained using basic reading and writing skills. Individual skills for accessing, understanding, and evaluating online health information are complex and elaborate in the information-rich modern society. Therefore, this paper aimed to provide a viewpoint for understanding the complexity of online health information by illuminating the dynamics between eHealth and media literacy. This viewpoint paper applied the lenses of both eHealth literacy and media literacy to online health information, with the premise that contemporary online health information is health information and media messages. It further discussed media literacy related to online health information more comprehensively, including accessing, analyzing, evaluating, creating, and acting. This paper sheds light on the transition from traditional health literacy to eHealth literacy by focusing on the health information realm. After applying the components of media literacy to online health information, eHealth literacy and media literacy concepts were mapped to eHealth literacy scales associated with online health information. This perspective explains why media literacy should be considered together with health promotion strategies based on eHealth literacy.