The Impact of Social Media Engagement on Health Literacy: The Mediating Role of Health Information Seeking Behavior

Abstract

This study aimed to reveal the mediating role of health information-seeking behavior on the relationship between social media engagement and health literacy, to achieve the objectives of the study, the analytical descriptive approach was used by developing a questionnaire that included (26) items, and the study sample was randomly selected, as it included (350) Jordanian citizens who use communication platforms The results of the study showed that there is a statistically significant effect of social media engagement on both health information-seeking behavior and health literacy, in addition to the presence of a statistically significant effect of health information-seeking behavior on health literacy, and there is a mediating role for health information-seeking behavior on the relationship between social media engagement and health literacy. Based on these results, the study came out with a set of recommendations, the most important of which is the need for health institutions to focus on social media platforms and communicate with the public through them, and to ensure the validity and accuracy of published health information.