Page 28 - Health Literacy, eHealth, and Communication: Putting the Consumer First: Workshop Summary

Health Literacy, eHealth, and Communication: Putting the Consumer First: Workshop Summary

oveRvieW oF iSSUeS

information. Those with low information literacy are also unfamiliar with
local libraries and other repositories of information, and they are unable
to frame search questions in a manner that produces desired results.
As described above, the specific skills involved in eHealth include
computer literacy, science literacy, and health literacy. Computer literacy
is a general awareness of and skill in using computer-based technology
to solve problems (Logan, 2000). It relates both to computers and to the
kind of technologies that surround the use of computers, such as the use
of a keyboard, mouse, or printer. As Skinner and colleagues point out,
computer literacy involves more than simply access to this type of tech-
nology; it is also about relative access and the comfort with which one
accesses computers (Skinner et al., 2003a, 2003b). For example, Canada
was the first country in the world to connect each of its public schools
to the Internet. One might therefore say that all Canadian students have
access to the Internet. But if access is only at certain times of the day, or
in one particular room where the teacher is present and overseeing what
students are doing, a young person wanting to find information on sexual
health may find it difficult to do so.
Science literacy, another skill necessary for eHealth, is an understand-
ing of the nature, aims, methods, application, limitations and politics of
creating knowledge in a systematic manner (Laugksch, 2000). Research
on scientific literacy suggests that only 17 percent of Americans are con-
sidered able to understand basic science (Gross, 2006). This means that
the remaining 83 percent of Americans lack an understanding of the
cumulative, dynamic nature of scientific knowledge. They are not aware
that science can be understood and used by non-scientists, and they are
unfamiliar with simple science terminology, the process of discovery, or
how scientific knowledge is translated into practice. Yet 87 percent of
online users (128 million adults) use the Internet as a research tool, and
70 percent have used the Internet to look up a scientific term (Horrigan,
2006).
Finally, eHealth demands health literacy skills. The Pew Internet and
American Life Project found that 64 percent of Americans had searched
7
online for health information in 1 of 17 areas identified by the Pew
Internet and American Life Project (Fox, 2006). Seventy-three percent of

7 The 17 areas are specific disease or medical problem (64%); certain medical treatment
or procedure (51%); diet, nutrition, vitamins, or nutritional supplements (49%); exercise or
fitness (44%); prescription or over-the-counter drugs (37%); a particular doctor or hospital
(29%); health insurance (28%); alternative treatments or medicines (22%); depression, anxi-
ety, stress, or mental health issues (22%); environmental health hazards (22%); experimental
treatments or medicines (18%); immunizations or vaccinations (16%); dental health infor-
mation (15%); Medicare or Medicaid (13%); sexual health information (11%); how to quit
smoking (9%); and problems with drugs or alcohol (8%).

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