eHealth Literacy Skills Across Genders: A Comparative Insight for the Pakistani Undergraduate Students

Abstract

The world is moving towards eHealth /digital health. In this regard, efforts are also being made in Pakistan. However, there is no comprehensive concept of e-health literacy among the Public. The study was conducted to analyze students' e-health literacy in Pakistan. The cross-sectional survey included undergraduate students from universities located in Islamabad from May 2024 to December 2024. Participants were divided by gender, age range, educational discipline (Arts & Humanities, Science, Social Science, and Others), and local language. Given the distribution of local languages, the research population was representative of Pakistan's diverse regions. The survey incorporated the eHLQ questionnaire as a key tool, along with socio-demographic information. The Mann–Whitney U test was used to analyze the data. The results showed that the digital health literacy levels were moderate and balanced across the seven dimensions of eHLQ. (3.61 to 3.34 out of 5).