Digital Health Literacy and Mental Health Information-Seeking Behaviour Among Adolescents in Balikpapan, East Kalimantan
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.69855/mgj.v3i3.882Keywords:
Digital Health Literacy, Mental Health Information-Seeking Behavior, Adolescents, Ehealth LiteracyAbstract
Indonesian adolescents increasingly rely on digital platforms as their main source for mental health information due to widespread internet access; consequently, digital health literacy is crucial to mitigate misinformation risks. The connection between digital health literacy and adolescents' mental health information-seeking behavior was analyzed in this study, which focused on those living in Balikpapan, East Kalimantan. They hypothesized a positive association. A quantitative observational analytic cross-sectional design was employed for this study, which took place in May 2026. Multistage random sampling was used to select 162 students aged 15–18 from public and private senior high schools to participate. The Indonesian eHealth Literacy Scale (I-eHEALS) was used to assess their digital health literacy. A Health Information-Seeking Behavior instrument, comprising five domains, was used to measure information-seeking behavior. Supervised online questionnaires facilitated data collection, and Spearman's rank correlation was applied for analysis. Data revealed a mean digital health literacy score of 28.74 (SD 5.12) and a mean information-seeking behavior score of 68.31 (SD 11.47), showing a significant positive moderate correlation (ρ = 0.46, p < 0.001). This finding indicates that higher digital health literacy was associated with more directed searching, selective source choices, improved credibility evaluation, and constructive information use. The integration of critical digital health literacy into current school-based mental health programs is suggested by these findings for local health and education authorities. Digital health literacy significantly determines how adolescents seek information about mental health. Future longitudinal studies need to include more factors and validate instruments.
References
Angles, M. B., Encuentra, E. H., Sanchez, R. C., Fernandez, J. M., Bosch, F. L., & Rubio, L. M. (2024). Adolescent Mental Health literacy and help-seeking behaviours. Cross-sectional survey in Barcelona. European Journal of Public Health, 34(3). https://doi.org/10.1093/eurpub/ckae144.1071
APJII. (2024). Survei Penetrasi Internet Indonesia 2024. Asosiasi Penyelenggara Jasa Internet Indonesia.
Chang, F.-C., Chang, C., & Tao, C.-C. (2023). Adolescent pursuit of health information online during the COVID-19 pandemic: The roles played by eHealth literacy and psychological distress. Cambridge Prisms: Global Mental Health, 10. https://doi.org/10.1017/gmh.2023.44
Dinkes. (2025). Mengedukasi remaja tentang kesehatan mental. Dinas Kesehatan Provinsi Kalimantan Timur.
Gulec, H., Kvardova, N., & Smahel, D. (2022). Adolescents” disease- and fitness-related online health information seeking behaviors: The roles of perceived trust in online health information, eHealth literacy, and parental factors. Computers in Human Behavior, 134, 107318. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2022.107318
Hatamlah, H. (2024). Adolescents” online health information seeking: Trust, e-health literacy, parental influence, and AI-generated credibility. International Journal of Data and Network Science, 8(2), 809–822. https://doi.org/10.5267/j.ijdns.2023.12.023
Hudon, A., Perry, K., Plate, A.-S., Doucet, A., Ducharme, L., Djona, O., Aguirre, C. T., & Evoy, G. (2024). Navigating the maze of social media disinformation on psychiatric illness and charting paths to reliable information for mental health professionals : An observational analysis (preprint). Journal of Medical Internet Research, 27. https://doi.org/10.2196/64225
Kaligis, F., Ismail, R. I., Wiguna, T., Prasetyo, S., Indriatmi, W., Gunardi, H., Pandia, V., Minayati, K., Magdalena, C. C., Nurraga, G. W., Anggia, M. F., Pamungkas, S. R., Tran, T. D., Kurki, M., Gilbert, S., & Sourander, A. (2021). Translation, validity, and reliability of mental health literacy and help-seeking behavior questionnaires in Indonesia. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 12, 764666. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2021.764666
Kemenkes RI. (2023). Laporan tematik Survei Kesehatan Indonesia (SKI) 2023: Depresi pada anak muda di Indonesia.
Kim, K., Shin, S., Kim, S., & Lee, E. (2022). The relation between e-Health literacy and health-related behaviors: A systematic review and meta-analysis (preprint). Journal of Medical Internet Research, 25. https://doi.org/10.2196/40778
Lesmana, M. H. S., & Chung, M.-H. (2024). Mediating roles of perceived stigma and mental health literacy in the relationship between school climate and help-seeking behavior in Indonesian adolescents. PLoS ONE, 19(5), e0298017–e0298017. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0298017
Liu, D., Yang, S., Cheng, C. Y., Cai, L., & Su, J. (2024). Online health information seeking, eHealth literacy, and health behaviors among Chinese internet users: Cross-sectional survey study. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 26, e54135. https://doi.org/10.2196/54135
Papp-Zipernovszky, O., Horvath, M. D., Schulz, P. J., & Csabai, M. (2021). Generation gaps in digital health literacy and their impact on health information seeking behavior and health empowerment in Hungary. Frontiers in Public Health, 9. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2021.635943
Rachmayanti, R. D, Tetra, S., Setiyawati, D., Megatsari, H., Diana, R., & Vinarti, R. (2024). The impact of digital communication to improve adolescent resilience for preventing mental health problem: Protocol for scoping review (preprint). JMIR Research Protocols, 13, e58681–e58681. https://doi.org/10.2196/58681
Sanguino, C. G., Medina, J. R., Pacheco, J. R., Betegon, E., Leon, L. V., & Irurtia, M. J. (2024). An exploratory cross-sectional study on Mental health literacy of Spanish adolescents. BMC Public Health, 24(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-024-18933-9
Saraipour, F., Panahi, S., Anaraki, L. N., & Mohammadi, A. S. (2025). Adolescents” health information–seeking behavior: A scoping review. Journal of Adolescent Health, 77(4), 592–601. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jadohealth.2025.05.030
Stauch, L., Renninger, D., Rangnow, P., Hartmann, A., Fischer, L., Dadaczynski, K., & Okan, O. (2025). Digital Health literacy of children and adolescents and its association with SOCIODEMOGRAPHIC FACTORS: Representative study findings from Germany. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 27, e69170–e69170. https://doi.org/10.2196/69170
Wahdi, A. E., Wilopo, S. A., & Erskine, H. E. (2023). The prevalence of adolescent mental disorders in Indonesia: An analysis of Indonesia – national mental health survey (I-NAMHS). Journal of Adolescent Health, 72(3), S70. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jadohealth.2022.11.143
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Miracle Get Journal
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
