Multidimensional eHealth Literacy for Infertility

Susie Sykes, Jane Wills, Daniel Frings, Sarah Church and Kerry Wood
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Susie Sykes: School of Health and Social Care, London South Bank University, 101 Borough Road, London SE1 0AA, UK
Jane Wills: School of Health and Social Care, London South Bank University, 101 Borough Road, London SE1 0AA, UK
Daniel Frings: School of Applied Science, London South Bank University, 101 Borough Road, London SE1 0AA, UK
Sarah Church: School of Health and Social Care, London South Bank University, 101 Borough Road, London SE1 0AA, UK
Kerry Wood: School of Applied Science, London South Bank University, 101 Borough Road, London SE1 0AA, UK

IJERPH, 2020, vol. 17, issue 3, 1-13

Abstract: Infertility is a major public health issue and increasingly, the internet is used as a source of information and advice. The aim of this study is to understand the eHealth literacy of individuals and couples in relation to infertility. A non-probability sample of 27 participants was recruited from existing support groups, online advertising and snowballing representing the diverse population groups for whom involuntary childlessness is an issue. Information online was used both for decision making and developing interactive health literacy for health consultations. Participants may be both consumers and purveyors of information to others in distributed health literacy. Cognitive skills are required to appraise an inconsistent evidence base and potentially biased information from private providers of treatments. Accounts of geographical variations in treatment options, the cost of private treatment and for some, a sense that information and services were directed towards female and heterosexual couples, led some participants to political action online creating an important sense of empowerment. The study offers a new conceptual framework for eHealth literacy in the context of infertility, that combines use of the web and virtual communities in which functional, interactive, critical and distributed health literacy play a part in an online environment.

Keywords: digital health literacy; eHealth literacy; distributed health literacy; fertility health literacy; online fertility information (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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