Digital health literacy and perceptions of infectious diseases in primary care: potential implications for medical education

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Köse Hayta B., Özer Z. Y., Okyar Ç., Arslan Y. K., Yüce S., Özcan S.

CUKUROVA MEDICAL JOURNAL, cilt.51, sa.2, ss.529-539, 2026 (ESCI, TRDizin)

  • Yayın Türü: Makale / Tam Makale
  • Cilt numarası: 51 Sayı: 2
  • Basım Tarihi: 2026
  • Doi Numarası: 10.17826/cumj.1894918
  • Dergi Adı: CUKUROVA MEDICAL JOURNAL
  • Derginin Tarandığı İndeksler: Academic Search Ultimate (EBSCO), Emerging Sources Citation Index (ESCI), Directory of Open Access Journals, TR DİZİN (ULAKBİM)
  • Sayfa Sayıları: ss.529-539
  • Açık Arşiv Koleksiyonu: AVESİS Açık Erişim Koleksiyonu
  • Çukurova Üniversitesi Adresli: Evet

Özet

Purpose: This study aimed to examine the relationship

between perceptions of infectious diseases and digital

health literacy among adults attending a primary care

setting and to explore the potential implications of these

findings for patient education and medical education.

Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional descriptive

study was conducted at an Educational Family Health

Center affiliated with a university department of family

medicine between May and August 2024. A total of 324

adults were included. Data were collected using a

sociodemographic questionnaire, the Perceptions of

Infectious Diseases Scale, and the Digital Health Literacy

Scale.

Results: The mean age of the participants was 33.9 ± 11.3

years, and 59.3% were female. Healthcare professionals

were reported as the primary source of health information

by 66.4% of participants, whereas 94.4% stated that they

had never searched for health-related information online.

A weak positive correlation was identified between total

scores on the Perceptions of Infectious Diseases Scale and

the Digital Health Literacy Scale. Higher digital health

literacy levels were associated with higher educational

attainment and better self-rated health status. P

Conclusion: These findings highlight the potential

importance of strengthening physicians’ roles as digital

health educators within medical education curricula to

support patient education, reduce misinformation, and

improve infectious disease prevention strategies.

Keywords: Digital health literacy, infectious disease

perception, primary care, medical education