RESUMO
Background: Health misinformation on social media is a persistent public health concern that requires the proper skill set for interpreting and evaluating accurate information. This study aimed to determine the effects of a mobile app-based educational intervention on media health literacy (MHL) development among Iranian adults. Methods: This study was a quasi-experimental design conducted in 2022 that included 100 Iranian adults aged 18 to 65 years old. The inclusion criteria for participation were ownership of an Android smartphone, no prior training in MHL, and membership in at least one virtual social media app. As the primary outcome of the study, MHL was assessed using the validated MeHLit questionnaire with two follow-up time points (immediately after program completion and 12 weeks after program completion) in addition to a pre-test. Participants were divided into an experimental group that received the mobile app-based training program and a control group that received none. Results: The repeated measures test revealed a significant effect of the group-time interaction on the mean MHL score in both the intervention and control groups. Within the intervention group, the follow-up test indicated a significant increase in mean MHL scores for post-test 1 (63.54±12.57) and post-test 2 (65.72±7.97) compared to the pre-test phase (55.14±12.04), with these increases being statistically significant (P<0.001). No significant difference was observed within the control group. Conclusion: The results of this study suggest that the mobile app-based educational intervention was effective in improving MHL among Iranian adults. These findings highlight the potential of mobile app-based interventions for promoting MHL and addressing health misinformation on social media.
RESUMO
BACKGROUND: Media play an important role in shaping and changing the attitudes, thoughts, and behaviors of their audiences regarding health issues. Therefore, there is a need to explore and identify media health literacy concepts and domains. METHODS: This is a cross-sectional study to design and psychometry an instrument to assess Media Health Literacy (MeHLit) from June to Septemper 2021. Relevant literature was reviewed to identify an item pool, and an expert panel was convened to choose items that might be included in the scale. The validity of the questionnaire was assessed through face validity (qualitative and quantitative),content validity (qualitative and quantitative) and construct validity (exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis) in 213 adults. Internal consistency of the scale was assessed by Cronbach's alpha. RESULTS: The content validity and reliability were demonstrated by CVR = 0.87 and CVI = 0.93, Cronbach's α = 0.91. Exploratory factor analysis showed 5 factors including "Goal appraisal skill"; "Content appraisal skill" "Implicit message appraisal skill"; "Visual Comprehension skill"; "Audience appraisal skill"; which explained 60.25 of the variance. CONCLUSION: MeHLit is a valid and reliable questionnaire, with 21-item and 5 domains to assess media health literacy. To replicate the results obtained here, this measurement should be translated and maintained in other settings.