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Impact of Digital Health Literacy Training on Online Health Information Evaluation among Undergraduate Students in Nigeria

Abstract

The increasing use of digital technologies has transformed how undergraduate students access, interpret, and use health information. In Nigeria, university students frequently obtain health-related information from search engines, social media platforms, websites, blogs, online forums, messaging applications, and other digital sources. Although digital platforms provide convenient access to health information, the quality, accuracy, and reliability of available information vary considerably. Limited digital health literacy may make students vulnerable to misinformation, misleading health claims, inappropriate self-diagnosis, unsafe self-treatment, and poor health decision-making. Digital health literacy training provides an opportunity to equip students with the skills required to locate, understand, critically evaluate, verify, and appropriately use online health information. Against this background, this study investigates the impact of digital health literacy training on online health information evaluation among undergraduate students in Nigeria. The study will be anchored on Information Literacy Theory, the Health Belief Model, and Social Cognitive Theory. Information Literacy Theory emphasizes the ability to identify information needs, locate relevant information, evaluate information sources, verify evidence, and use information appropriately. The Health Belief Model explains how students' perceptions of the potential risks of unreliable health information, perceived benefits of evaluating online health information, perceived barriers, and cues to action may influence their information-evaluation behaviours. Social Cognitive Theory emphasizes observational learning, practical demonstrations, self-efficacy, reinforcement, and social influences in developing effective digital health-information evaluation skills. Collectively, these theoretical perspectives provide a suitable framework for explaining how digital health literacy training may influence online health information evaluation among undergraduate students in Nigeria. The study will adopt a quantitative quasi-experimental or analytical cross-sectional research design. The study population will comprise undergraduate students aged 18 years and above enrolled in selected public and private universities across Nigeria. A multistage sampling technique will be used to select geopolitical zones, states, universities, faculties or departments, levels of study, and eligible students. Digital health literacy training will be assessed using indicators such as exposure to training sessions, frequency and duration of training, knowledge of digital health information sources, ability to locate reliable health information, source credibility assessment, recognition of misleading health claims, evaluation of supporting evidence, verification of information through multiple credible sources, identification of reliable health organizations and websites, recognition of sponsored or biased content, understanding of publication dates and authorship, and responsible use and sharing of online health information. Online health information evaluation will be assessed using indicators such as ability to distinguish credible from unreliable health information, assessment of source authority, evaluation of evidence quality, verification of health claims, comparison of information across credible sources, identification of misinformation, recognition of exaggerated or unsupported claims, assessment of the currency and relevance of information, identification of conflicts of interest, and appropriate decisions regarding acceptance, rejection, or further verification of online health information. Data will be collected using structured questionnaires, digital health literacy assessment instruments, scenario-based online health-information evaluation tasks, and relevant training records. Descriptive statistics will be used to summarize students' demographic characteristics, digital technology use, sources of health information, digital health literacy levels, and online information-evaluation practices. Inferential statistical techniques, including chi-square tests, t-tests, correlation analysis, and logistic or multiple regression analysis where appropriate, will be used to determine the impact of digital health literacy training on online health information evaluation. Where a quasi-experimental design is adopted, information-evaluation scores before and after the training intervention may be compared with those of a comparison group to determine changes associated with the intervention. Diagnostic tests will also be conducted to assess the reliability, validity, and robustness of the findings. The study is expected to find that digital health literacy training has a significant positive impact on online health information evaluation among undergraduate students in Nigeria. Students exposed to structured and practical digital health literacy training are expected to demonstrate greater ability to identify credible health information, evaluate online sources, verify health claims, assess supporting evidence, and recognize misleading or inaccurate information than students without comparable training. Practical exercises involving real-world online health information may improve students' confidence and ability to critically assess digital health content before accepting or sharing it. Improved evaluation skills may also reduce students' vulnerability to health misinformation and support more informed health-related decisions. However, high exposure to social media, confirmation bias, peer influence, emotionally persuasive content, limited access to credible health resources, rapidly changing online information, and varying levels of digital competence may influence the effectiveness of digital health literacy training. The study therefore expects practical, continuous, accessible, and digitally oriented health literacy training to contribute significantly to improved online health information evaluation among undergraduate students in Nigeria. The study is expected to contribute to the literature on digital health literacy, online health information evaluation, health misinformation, information literacy, health communication, health education, digital health, health promotion, and public health in Nigeria. The findings will provide useful information to the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, Federal Ministry of Education, Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, universities, healthcare professionals, public health practitioners, digital health organizations, development partners, and policymakers regarding strategies for improving students' ability to evaluate online health information. The study will also provide evidence-based recommendations for integrating digital health literacy training into university health education and student-support programmes, strengthening students' ability to verify online health claims, promoting the use of credible health-information sources, improving responsible digital health-information practices, and developing sustainable digital health literacy interventions among undergraduate students across Nigeria.

Keywords: Digital health literacy training, online health information evaluation, undergraduate students, digital health literacy, health misinformation, information literacy, health education, health communication, health promotion, Nigeria, public health.