Digital health literacy and well-being of students at Sofia University – Bulgaria

Abstract Background During the Covid-19 pandemic the students in the Faculty of Mathematics and Informatics at Sofia University ‘St. Kliment Ohridski’ applied their abilities for searching health-related information and use it as a factor to improve their well-being. Methods The study used the Questionnaire developed by Dadaczynski, K., Okan, O. & Rathmann, K. in 2020 as COVID-19 Health Literacy Survey: University Students (COVID-HL Survey), and the respective Scale Documentation under the Public Health Centre Fulda (PHZF) at the Fulda University of Applied Sciences & Interdisciplinary Centre for Health Literacy Research at Bielefeld University. 216 students, almost 13% (12.78%) of 1.690 students approached, participated. Results There is a correlation as our students reported Very easy or easy to the question how easy they deal with the coronavirus information on the Internet - with 71% choosing from all the information they find, 91% using the proper words to find the information, and 71% finding the exact information. Those results were achieved as our students reported feeling over the last two weeks 27.12% very low, 18.08% low, and only 54.80% high (>50) well-being, measuring the dimensions of psychological general well-being by the WHO-5. Conclusions Our students reported they can search and retrieve the appropriate information on the coronavirus or related topics, and they are satisfied with the information found. Our students’ abilities to search and retrieve health-related information are applicable even under the pandemic pressure, where they contribute to the improvement of their well-being feelings. [This research is supported by the National Scientific Program “eHealth” in Bulgaria.]


Background:
During the Covid-19 pandemic the students in the Faculty of Mathematics and Informatics at Sofia University 'St.Kliment Ohridski' applied their abilities for searching health-related information and use it as a factor to improve their well-being.

Methods:
The study used the Questionnaire developed by Dadaczynski

Results:
There is a correlation as our students reported Very easy or easy to the question how easy they deal with the coronavirus information on the Internet -with 71% choosing from all the information they find, 91% using the proper words to find the information, and 71% finding the exact information.Those results were achieved as our students reported feeling over the last two weeks 27.12% very low, 18.08% low, and only 54.80% high (>50) well-being, measuring the dimensions of psychological general well-being by the WHO-5.

Conclusions:
Our students reported they can search and retrieve the appropriate information on the coronavirus or related topics, and they are satisfied with the information found.Our students' abilities to search and retrieve health-related information are applicable even under the pandemic pressure, where they contribute to the improvement of their well-being feelings.[This research is supported by the National Scientific Program ''eHealth'' in Bulgaria.]Abstract citation ID: ckac129.713Digital health literacy and well-being of health sciences students from MU-Sofia during the pandemic Nikoleta Leventi N Leventi 1 , A Vodenicharova 2 , K Popova 3 1 Department of Health Technologies Assessment, Medical University -Sofia, Sofia, Bulgaria 2 Department of Bioethics, Medical University -Sofia, Sofia, Bulgaria 3 Department of Social Medicine, Medical University -Sofia, Sofia, Bulgaria Contact: n.leventi@foz.mu-sofia.bg

Background:
The aim of the study is to demonstrate the Digital health literacy and the well-being of the students from different faculties in Medical University -Sofia during the pandemic.

Methods:
To achieve the purpose of the study a web-based questionnaire was distributed among health sciences students from the Faculty of Public Health and the Medical College -Sofia, as well as medical students from the Faculty of Medicine all from Medical University -Sofia in Bulgaria.Data was collected between February and April 2022, and all respondents participated anonymously and voluntarily.Established statistical methods were used in data analysis.

Results:
Completed questionnaires were received from 239 students.Data collected show that among participants the majority (81,4%) were females, and 73,3% were studying in a Bachelor's programme.Among the respondents 87.7% found it easy, or very easy to use the proper words or search query to find the information they were looking for about coronavirus or related topics.Finally 29,3% of health sciences students expressed low to very low well-being during the last two weeks and the rest 70,7% expressed high well-being.

Conclusions:
The presented results draw attention to the fact that during the pandemic health sciences students demonstrate the appropriate skills in searching and acquiring the information about coronavirus or related topics.In addition, translating and applying the information could contribute to benefit the psychological well-being of the students.In a digitally transformed health sector it is significant for future health professionals to obtain competencies including digital health literacy to promote health and well-being of the patients and provide better outcomes for them.The necessity of digital iii290 European Journal of Public Health, Volume 32 Supplement 3, 2022 Scale Documentation under the Public Health Centre Fulda (PHZF) at the Fulda University of Applied Sciences & Interdisciplinary Centre for Health Literacy Research at Bielefeld University.216 students, almost 13% (12.78%) of 1.690 students approached, participated.