Co-designing an online educational resource to help adolescents improve their digital health literacy.

Aloi, MA; Caldwell, PHY; Taba, M; Kang, M; Skinner, SR; Bray, L; Scott, KM; Aloi, MA

Co-designing an online educational resource to help adolescents improve their digital health literacy.

Aloi, MA Caldwell, PHY Taba, M Kang, M

Skinner, SR Bray, L Scott, KM Aloi, MA

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Publisher:: BMC
Publication Type:: Journal Article
Citation:: BMC Public Health, 2025, 25, (1), pp. 1870
Issue Date:: 2025-05-21

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Field	Value	Language
dc.contributor.author	Aloi, MA
dc.contributor.author	Caldwell, PHY
dc.contributor.author	Taba, M
dc.contributor.author	Kang, M https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9438-2518
dc.contributor.author	Skinner, SR
dc.contributor.author	Bray, L
dc.contributor.author	Scott, KM
dc.contributor.author	Aloi, MA
dc.date.accessioned	2025-07-15T06:43:41Z
dc.date.available	2025-04-25
dc.date.available	2025-07-15T06:43:41Z
dc.date.issued	2025-05-21
dc.identifier.citation	BMC Public Health, 2025, 25, (1), pp. 1870
dc.identifier.issn	1471-2458
dc.identifier.issn	1471-2458
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/10453/188390
dc.description.abstract	BACKGROUND: Digital media is ubiquitous in adolescents' lives and provides many opportunities to engage with health information. However, there is an increased risk of engaging with inaccurate or biased health information on the internet, resulting in poor health-related behaviours. As such, adolescents would benefit from improving their digital health literacy (DHL). There are limited education tools in DHL that are interactive and relatable for adolescents. A co-design approach can incorporate adolescents' perspectives in designing an education tool to ensure its relevance. AIMS: This study aimed to determine the effectiveness of the co-design approach in creating an educational resource designed to improve adolescents' DHL. METHODS: Three workshops were conducted with adolescents (12-17 years) to explore their DHL habits and education needs, evaluate an existing DHL educational app, co-design new storylines to better meet their needs and beta test the expanded resource. Data was collected through creation of storyboards, annotated posters and worksheets. Data analysis of these artefacts was undertaken through content analysis to identify themes and sub-themes. RESULTS: Forty-four participants attended two co-design workshops. Participants preferred using video-based social media and considered using artificial intelligence (AI) tools for extracting online health information. They designed storylines involving health topics such as dietary supplements, fitness and mental health. Storylines focused on identifying trustworthy online health information sources and dealing with concerns regarding scams, social media influencers and misinformation conveyed by parents. Eight participants who attended the beta-testing workshop positively evaluated the app as engaging and relatable. DISCUSSION: This study clarified the DHL educational needs of adolescents. In particular, it demonstrated the need to include other media literacies, the use of AI tools and interactions with family in the resource to maximise relevance to adolescents. CONCLUSION: The co-design methodology was useful for understanding adolescents' DHL lived experiences and developing an engaging educational resource to help them navigate and appraise online health information.
dc.format	Electronic
dc.language	eng
dc.publisher	BMC
dc.relation.ispartof	BMC Public Health
dc.relation.isbasedon	10.1186/s12889-025-22949-0
dc.rights	info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
dc.subject	1117 Public Health and Health Services
dc.subject.classification	Public Health
dc.subject.classification	4202 Epidemiology
dc.subject.classification	4203 Health services and systems
dc.subject.classification	4206 Public health
dc.subject.mesh	Humans
dc.subject.mesh	Adolescent
dc.subject.mesh	Health Literacy
dc.subject.mesh	Male
dc.subject.mesh	Female
dc.subject.mesh	Child
dc.subject.mesh	Health Education
dc.subject.mesh	Internet
dc.subject.mesh	Social Media
dc.subject.mesh	Humans
dc.subject.mesh	Health Education
dc.subject.mesh	Internet
dc.subject.mesh	Adolescent
dc.subject.mesh	Child
dc.subject.mesh	Female
dc.subject.mesh	Male
dc.subject.mesh	Health Literacy
dc.subject.mesh	Social Media
dc.subject.mesh	Humans
dc.subject.mesh	Adolescent
dc.subject.mesh	Health Literacy
dc.subject.mesh	Male
dc.subject.mesh	Female
dc.subject.mesh	Child
dc.subject.mesh	Health Education
dc.subject.mesh	Internet
dc.subject.mesh	Social Media
dc.title	Co-designing an online educational resource to help adolescents improve their digital health literacy.
dc.type	Journal Article
utslib.citation.volume	25
utslib.location.activity	England
utslib.for	1117 Public Health and Health Services
pubs.organisational-group	University of Technology Sydney
pubs.organisational-group	University of Technology Sydney/Faculty of Health
pubs.organisational-group	University of Technology Sydney/Faculty of Health/School of Public Health
utslib.copyright.status	open_access	*
dc.rights.license	This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0). To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
dc.date.updated	2025-07-15T06:43:38Z
pubs.issue	1
pubs.publication-status	Published online
pubs.volume	25
utslib.citation.issue	1

Abstract:

BACKGROUND: Digital media is ubiquitous in adolescents' lives and provides many opportunities to engage with health information. However, there is an increased risk of engaging with inaccurate or biased health information on the internet, resulting in poor health-related behaviours. As such, adolescents would benefit from improving their digital health literacy (DHL). There are limited education tools in DHL that are interactive and relatable for adolescents. A co-design approach can incorporate adolescents' perspectives in designing an education tool to ensure its relevance. AIMS: This study aimed to determine the effectiveness of the co-design approach in creating an educational resource designed to improve adolescents' DHL. METHODS: Three workshops were conducted with adolescents (12-17 years) to explore their DHL habits and education needs, evaluate an existing DHL educational app, co-design new storylines to better meet their needs and beta test the expanded resource. Data was collected through creation of storyboards, annotated posters and worksheets. Data analysis of these artefacts was undertaken through content analysis to identify themes and sub-themes. RESULTS: Forty-four participants attended two co-design workshops. Participants preferred using video-based social media and considered using artificial intelligence (AI) tools for extracting online health information. They designed storylines involving health topics such as dietary supplements, fitness and mental health. Storylines focused on identifying trustworthy online health information sources and dealing with concerns regarding scams, social media influencers and misinformation conveyed by parents. Eight participants who attended the beta-testing workshop positively evaluated the app as engaging and relatable. DISCUSSION: This study clarified the DHL educational needs of adolescents. In particular, it demonstrated the need to include other media literacies, the use of AI tools and interactions with family in the resource to maximise relevance to adolescents. CONCLUSION: The co-design methodology was useful for understanding adolescents' DHL lived experiences and developing an engaging educational resource to help them navigate and appraise online health information.

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http://hdl.handle.net/10453/188390