The Role of Health Literacy in Access to Online Health Information

Abstract

In recent years, the size of online information about health and diseases is increasing every passing day with the increasing use of technologies which facilitate access to information. However, health literacy plays a big role in selecting and using existing information in a correct way. It is a known fact that online health information, messages and news affect health behaviors of individuals. It is also observed that the number of websites that cover online health information news is increasing every day. Individuals can access to such health information using search engines and use the information in their lives without questioning the accuracy of information. Advancements in the information technology make it easier for an individual to access to online health information and expand the use of such information increasingly. Considering the magnitude of online health information, it is required for an individual to have high-level health literacy to access to correct information. (C) 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license.