Assessment of eHealth Literacy and Its Association with Oral Health Behavior Among Outpatients of a Dental College in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia—A Cross-Sectional Study

Background/Objectives: Digital platforms have increased access to health information. The eHEALS scale evaluates individuals’ capabilities for accessing, assessing, and assimilating health information to help them make well-informed oral health decisions. It would be interesting to examine the association with oral health behavior (OHB), as digital platforms are increasingly seen as a “super social determinant”. Hence, the present study aimed to assess eHealth literacy levels and their association with oral health behaviors among dental outpatients at a dental college in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Methods: A cross-sectional survey using the eHEALS questionnaire was conducted after translation into Arabic, with additional questions on oral health behaviors. The internal consistency of the translated questionnaire was good. A total of 213 patients were recruited from the dental college’s outpatient department. Chi-square, followed by multinomial regression, was used in the statistical analysis. Results: The mean total eHEALS score in the sampled population was 26.17 (±7.5) of the 213 participants, with 108 (50.7%) having good oral health behavior practices. The elderly age group (OR 2.67, p = 0.01, CI 1.25–5.68), school-level education (OR 2.82, p = 0.03, CI 1.41–5.66), and low monthly family income (OR 2.53, p = 0.01, CI 1.25–5.11) were significantly associated with inadequate eHealth literacy. Participants with good oral health behavior had significantly lower odds of being categorized into inadequate (OR 0.41, p = 0.01, CI 0.20–0.81) or problematic (OR 0.43, p = 0.01, CI 0.22–0.85) levels of eHealth literacy. Conclusions: There is a significant association between eHealth literacy and individuals’ oral health behavior practices. Age, monthly family income, and education were key predictors of eHealth literacy levels.

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Journal
Applied Sciences
Published
2026-01-29
DOI
https://doi.org/10.3390/app16031394
Primary Topic
Health Literacy and Information Accessibility
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article
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0.00

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article

Assessment of eHealth Literacy and Its Association with Oral Health Behavior Among Outpatients of a Dental College in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia—A Cross-Sectional Study

Kiran Iyer, Saud Alhindi, Nasser Mohammed Alqarni, Nasser Ghazi Almanei et al.
Applied Sciences
Health Literacy and Information Accessibility
article

Assessment of eHealth Literacy and Its Association with Oral Health Behavior Among Outpatients of a Dental College in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia—A Cross-Sectional Study

Kiran Iyer, Saud Alhindi, Nasser Mohammed Alqarni, Nasser Ghazi Almanei, Moataz Almana, Ahmed Bin Obaid, Abdulaziz Alqahtani
article en

Abstract

Background/Objectives: Digital platforms have increased access to health information. The eHEALS scale evaluates individuals’ capabilities for accessing, assessing, and assimilating health information to help them make well-informed oral health decisions. It would be interesting to examine the association with oral health behavior (OHB), as digital platforms are increasingly seen as a “super social determinant”. Hence, the present study aimed to assess eHealth literacy levels and their association with oral health behaviors among dental outpatients at a dental college in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Methods: A cross-sectional survey using the eHEALS questionnaire was conducted after translation into Arabic, with additional questions on oral health behaviors. The internal consistency of the translated questionnaire was good. A total of 213 patients were recruited from the dental college’s outpatient department. Chi-square, followed by multinomial regression, was used in the statistical analysis. Results: The mean total eHEALS score in the sampled population was 26.17 (±7.5) of the 213 participants, with 108 (50.7%) having good oral health behavior practices. The elderly age group (OR 2.67, p = 0.01, CI 1.25–5.68), school-level education (OR 2.82, p = 0.03, CI 1.41–5.66), and low monthly family income (OR 2.53, p = 0.01, CI 1.25–5.11) were significantly associated with inadequate eHealth literacy. Participants with good oral health behavior had significantly lower odds of being categorized into inadequate (OR 0.41, p = 0.01, CI 0.20–0.81) or problematic (OR 0.43, p = 0.01, CI 0.22–0.85) levels of eHealth literacy. Conclusions: There is a significant association between eHealth literacy and individuals’ oral health behavior practices. Age, monthly family income, and education were key predictors of eHealth literacy levels.

Applied SciencesVol. 16(3)
King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences (SA), National Guard Health Affairs (SA)
King Abdullah International Medical Research Center, King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Science
Quality Education
Openalex Percentile: Top 77%
Health Literacy and Information Accessibility
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