Effects of media used and e-health literacy on hand-washing of married women in East Asia

Objectives: Hand-washing is a cost-effective method that can prevent disease like MERS and COVID-19 This study investigated the effects of media use and Internet health literacy on proper hand-washing of married women in East Asia Methods: The computer-assisted web interview was conducted on married women who are aged from 20 years to 40 years old and are living in Korea(Seoul), China(Beijing), and Japan(Tokyo)(n=2,134) The dependent variable was media use of the respondents and their e-health literacy We analyzed the data with hierarchical regression models after adjusted potential confounders Results: The respondents were more likely to engage in correct hand-washing when they had low age and/or higher level of education(p< 001) As for media use, all respondents were more likely to engage in correct hand-washing when they use to the television, radio, book, internet(p< 05) Chinese respondents were more likely to perform the correct hand washing when they listened to the radio and Japanese respondents were more likely to perform the correct hand washing when they watched television(p< 05) Conclusion: This study revealed that media use helps improve hand-washing practice In addition, e-health literacy performs a role that strengthens this relationship further Therefore, effective health communication strategies are needed to increase correct hand-washing practice in general