Analysis of the mediating effect between ehealth literacy and health self-management of undergraduate nursing students’ mental health literacy

Abstract Background Good health self-management positively affects the health of healthcare providers and their ability to manage their patients’ health. This study explored the relationship between ehealth literacy, health self-management skills, and mental health literacy among undergraduate nursing students. Some studies have confirmed the correlation between e-health literacy and health self-management skills, while mental health literacy may be correlated with both, and this study aims to explore the relationship between the three. Methods A descriptive cross-sectional survey was conducted at a medical university in northwestern China among 385 Chinese undergraduate nursing students. Participants completed the General Information Questionnaire, the Adult Health Self-Management Skills Rating Scale, the Mental Health Literacy Rating Scale, and the eHealth Literacy Scale, and provided valid responses. The IBM SPSS 27.0 statistical software was used for data entry and descriptive analysis, t-test, ANOVA, and Pearson correlation analysis. The IBM Amos 26.0 was used to construct the mediation effect model, and the Bootstrap method was employed to test mediating effects. Results Mental health literacy, ehealth literacy, and health self-management skills of undergraduate nursing students were at a moderate to high level. Mental health literacy, ehealth literacy, and health self-management were positively correlated. Mental health literacy, particularly, played a partial mediating role of 31.1% ( 95% CI [0.307–1.418] ) between ehealth literacy and health self-management. Conclusions Undergraduate nursing students’ mental health literacy partially mediates the link between eHealth literacy and health self-management skills. Schools should emphasize the development of nursing students’ e-health literacy and mental health literacy in order to improve their health self-management skills, which will not only bring about a better health outcome for the students, but will also benefit the health of the social population.