Literacia Mediática em Saúde: um estudo com adolescentes portugueses

The relevance of the study about the skills that enable youths to take advantage of the potential of the media and health information in favour of promoting healthy development is unanimous. In this framework, it is crucial to develop further research on Media Health Literacy (MHL) and two related concepts: Health Literacy (HL) and eHealth Literacy (eHL). Inspired by the literature that points out the importance of demographic factors in this area, this study aims to explore Media Health Literacy within a group of Portuguese teenagers, and in particular its relation with gender, age/school grade and area of residence. To fulfil the research goals, 906 students, between 11 and 19 years old, (M = 14,14), attending the 7th, 9th and 11th school years in schools distributed across Braga, Porto and Bragança completed a survey. The results revealed that the analysed skills tend to be superior in girls and more educated adolescents. Indeed, this study enables the identification of populations that most require MHL, HL and eHealth Literacy skills promotion, and inspires suggestions for future investigations.