Web-Based Intervention for Developing Long-Term Health Literacy of Individuals: Possibilities and Limitations

Abstract

Web-based interventions (WBI) are purposefully developed online programs designed for wide range of users (clients, patients, health care specialists, as well as medical practitioners) which allow obtaining and using information on various issues related to health maintenance and improvement.On the basis of the analysis of scientific literature, the article provides an overview of WBI types and components, as well as a structural model of WBI and its user in the context of environment factors. The possibilities of using WBI for developing long-term health literacy of individuals are specified. By summarising the main advantages and limitations of using WBI, the possible suggestions for the WBI use and development are offered. Keywords: web-based intervention, information literacy, health literacy, advantages and limitations, health literacy development In the Information Age when the amount of information is constantly increasing, it is not only required from an individual to know how to use new technologies, but he/ she must also possess skills to select and evaluate information according to his personal and professional goals. These information processing skills become extremely important during the process of education, especially during oneís studies at the university. To provide a qualitative study process it is equally important for both parties (lecturers and students) to supplement and purposefully structure their knowledge and competences, which nowadays is impossible to picture without intensive use of global network resources.Information literacy has become a topical issue of scientific discussion since the appearance of first computers, primarily interpreted as effective possibility of information search, intentional selection of information sources, as well as a skill to transfer the searched information to others (Webber & Johnson, 2000). Information literacy is often reduced to computer literacy / e-literacy or the so-called media literacy. Nevertheless computer literacy is only one of the elements of information literacy and is an integral part of contemporary educational and cultural environment (Ivanovic, 2014). In the study process, information literacy is interpreted as the ability to select and use only

Web-based education of the elderly improves drug utilization literacy: A randomized controlled trial

“…Web-based patient education has been proven to increase patients' knowledge and satisfaction in several fields, 24,25 including that of health literacy. 26 However, there seems to be a gap in the research on web-based educational interventions in the context of drug utilization. It has been suggested that non-web-based educational interventions could have positive effects on knowledge about medications.…”