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When looking for information and advice on most issues, the vast majority of people will now turn to digital sources of information as a starting point. Historically, access to relevant, timely information has been a major obstacle for many. Today, access is no longer an issue for most people as they obtain information from a vast array of online sources, including internet websites, mobile applications (apps) and social media. Search engines such as Google have streamlined the process of finding health information. The application of evolving artificial intelligence (AI) technologies is increasing options for searching as well as organising search results in ever more sophisticated forms. The problem is much less one of access, but rather of finding relevant, trustworthy and usable information in a largely unregulated landscape. This is as true for people looking for health information and advice as it is for any other form of information.
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To match the growth in access and use of digital media by the public, use of digital media for health communication has also grown exponentially over the past 20 years. Communication providers—the government, health and civil society organisations, as well as private for-profit organisations—have invested heavily in the development of websites and apps for digital devices, as well as engaging with social media to get their messages to different target populations.
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Digital technology has brought us many new tools for health promotion, addressing a wide range of access and cost challenges that have been limitations to health education programs in the past. These technologies enable us to communicate directly with large numbers of people at relatively low cost. They offer unprecedented opportunities to target and personalise information and to engage people in interactive communication.
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The great opportunity of digital technology has also created new challenges. It has not only made it easier to access valuable health information, but also provided equally easy access to information and opinion that is inaccurate, sometimes deliberately misleading and often driven by commercial motive. The marketplace for health communication is more crowded and complex than at any time before.
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For those of us who want to get our health messages in the right form, to the right person at the right time, the opportunities are great but the competition for attention even greater. This requires us to consider very carefully the quality of messaging and optimal use of different media. For those searching for health information, such a crowded marketplace has required the development of a range of new literacy skills, especially those required to assess the usefulness of different digital media, as well as relevance and trustworthiness of the many and varied sources of health information. These skills are referred to as eHealth literacy, and increasingly commonly as digital health literacy.
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In this chapter, we examine the concept of eHealth literacy and focus attention on the ways in which we ...