Digital Health Literacy and Social Media: a survey on misinformation among healthcare students

Background

Social media have become primary health information sources for young people. However, the proliferation of unverified content poses a significant public health challenge, driving the spread of misinformation and fake news.

Objectives

This cross-sectional study aimed to evaluate eHealth literacy and information-seeking behaviors among 180 health profession students (77 M, 103 F; mean age 21.5, SD ± 4.3). To guide future educational interventions, we investigated their social network usage, health information sources, perceived ability to identify fake news, causes of misinformation spread and eHealth literacy levels using the IT-eHEALS scale.

Results

Students reported pervasive daily social media usage (1-4 hours), preferring Instagram/WhatsApp (88%) and TikTok (66.6%). While 84.3% use scientific sources for study, daily exposure to health content on social media remains high (Instagram 88%, online news 54.6%, TikTok 50%). A significant misalignment exists: students identify TikTok (79.4%), Facebook (68.9%), and Instagram (62.2%) as high-risk platforms for fake news, yet continue to consume content there. Trusted sources include the Ministry of Health, general practitioners and professors. Main perceived causes of misinformation include poor scientific culture and difficulty identifying reliable sources (∼60%). Notably, 60% of students struggle to evaluate information veracity, and 68.3% emphasized the need for a stronger institutional social media presence. The mean IT-eHEALS score (3.40 out of 5, SD ± 0.14) indicates an intermediate eHealth literacy level.

Conclusions

Despite trusting institutional sources, healthcare students show high vulnerability to misinformation and intermediate eHealth literacy, highlighting a critical communication gap. To promote critical health information assessment, it is essential to integrate formal eHealth literacy training within academic curricula and develop targeted institutional digital communication strategies.

Key messages

• Despite risk awareness, healthcare students consume unverified social media content, highlighting vulnerability to fake news.

• To fight fake news, official sources must build a stronger, targeted presence on high-risk platforms.