E-health literacy and health-promoting behaviors among nursing students in China: the mediating role of self-efficacy

Adoption of health-promoting behaviors is crucial for improving people's well-being. As future health promoters, nursing students are encouraged to lead healthy lifestyles. The aim of this study was to investigate the status of health-promoting behaviors among nursing students and determine their associations with e-health literacy. The mediating effect of self-efficacy on the relationship between e-health literacy and health-promoting behaviors was also explored. A cross-sectional design was adopted to enroll 494 nursing students from the Hunan College of Foreign Studies in China. An online survey based on the simplified Chinese version of the e-Health Literacy Scale (SC-eHEALS), the General Self-Efficacy Scale (GSE), and the Chinese version of the Health Promoting Lifestyle Profile-II (HPLP-IICR) were used to collect data. Statistical analysis was conducted using SPSS 27.0 and PROCESS macro. It was observed that self-efficacy mediated the relationship between e-health literacy and health-promoting behaviors among nursing students, and the mediating effect accounted for 35.10%% of the total effect (p < 0.001). Collectively, these findings indicate that nursing students have a moderate level of health-promoting behaviors, and that e-health literacy can improve health-promoting behaviors by enhancing self-efficacy.