The Relationship between Health Literacy and Perceived Stress and the Moderating Role of Corona Infodemic in Students of Razi University

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

• Amin Zare ¹
• Soliman Shafee ²
• Morvarid Tasa ³
• Mehran Faridi ⁴

¹ Associate Professor, Department of Information Science, Faculty of Social Sciences, Razi University, Kermanshah, Iran.

² Ph.D in Information Science, Head of UAST of Kermanshah province, Kermanshah, Iran

³ M.A.in Information Science, Faculty of Social Sciences, Razi University, Kermanshah, Iran

⁴ M.A. in Information Science, Faculty of Social Sciences, Razi University, Kermanshah, Iran.

10.22067/infosci.2025.89023.1216

Abstract

Introduction: In contemporary society, literacy is a fundamental life skill. Its quality and extent influence various facets of human existence, among which health literacy has emerged as a critical factor. Health literacy is defined as the capacity to obtain, process, and comprehend basic health information and services necessary for informed healthcare decision-making. This definition underscores the interchangeable nature of health literacy and health information literacy, emphasizing the crucial role of health information skills in fostering health literacy. Furthermore, the significance of health literacy is amplified during periods of individual stress, particularly during disease outbreaks, reaching its zenith when widespread exposure occurs. The heightened visibility of health information literacy has become particularly salient in the context of disease outbreaks and epidemics. The COVID-19 pandemic, declared by the World Health Organization in late 2019, dramatically underscored this importance. In the wake of this event, the need for access to reliable and accurate information regarding the virus and its mitigation became paramount, prompting widespread searches for news and information concerning prevention and treatment. However, the concurrent proliferation of diverse and often contradictory information, some of which lacked veracity, exacerbated the stressful dimensions of the outbreak, a phenomenon subsequently termed an "infodemic.". In light of the aforementioned cases, the significance of health information literacy (HIL), particularly its influence on perceived stress, is amplified during pandemics, especially in the context of concurrent infodemics. Therefore, this study investigated the correlation between HIL and perceived stress levels among students at Razi University during the COVID-19 pandemic and its associated infodemic.
Methodology: This study employed a survey methodology. The target population comprised all 11,080 students enrolled at Razi University as of June 2022. A sample size of 375 participants was determined using Morgan's table. Stratified random sampling was utilized to ensure representation across different student subgroups. Data collection was performed using a questionnaire. The resulting data were analyzed using SmartPLS software, encompassing both descriptive and inferential statistical methods.
Findings: The participant pool comprised 370 individuals, of whom 216 (58.4%) were female and 154 (41.6%) were male. Regarding educational attainment, 188 participants (50.8%) were undergraduates, 110 (29.7%) were pursuing master's degrees, and 72 (19.5%) were doctoral candidates. The distribution of participants across faculties was as follows: 59 (15.9%) from Social Sciences, 55 (14.9%) from Chemistry, 54 (14.6%) from Literature and Humanities, 52 (14.1%) from Science, 51 (13.8%) from Technology and Engineering, 51 (13.8%) from Agriculture, and 46 (12.4%) from Veterinary Medicine. The participant cohort exhibited a mean age of 25 years, with a standard deviation of 2.8 years. Analysis revealed a strong, positive covariance (cov = 0.028) between evaluation and perceived stress, indicating a tendency for these two variables to fluctuate concordantly. Conversely, a negative covariance (cov = -0.002) was observed between access and perceived stress, suggesting that diminished access to information is associated with an increase in perceived stress levels.
Conclusion: This study demonstrated a positive correlation between health information evaluation and perceived stress. This seemingly counterintuitive result can be explained by two potential factors. First, limited health literacy may impair effective evaluation. Individuals with lower health literacy skills may be unable to accurately assess the veracity and reliability of health information, irrespective of their attempts to engage in the evaluation process. Second, the infodemic, particularly exemplified by the COVID-19 pandemic, illustrates how an overabundance of both credible and unreliable information can contribute to information pollution, thereby hindering accurate analysis and evaluation. In critical situations like a pandemic, the sheer volume of unverified information and news can exacerbate uncertainty. Consequently, rather than mitigating stress, the process of information evaluation and access may paradoxically amplify it.

Keywords

• health literacy
• perceived stress
• infodemic
• covid-19

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