Digital health citizenship: Mapping existing tools for digital, health and civic literacy

Digital Health Citizenship (DHC) integrates digital, health, and civic literacy to empower individuals, particularly young people, to navigate digital health ecosystems effectively. This framework promotes equitable access to health information, informed decision-making, and active participation in personal and public health outcomes while addressing critical issues of digital literacy disparities, privacy, and inclusivity. Young people often lack access to resources that address their unique challenges, such as navigating misinformation, safeguarding privacy, understanding health and civic responsibilities, and effectively engaging in digital and societal spaces. The research aimed to identify existing DHC tools and evaluate them based on the specific needs of young people, to inform the development of more tools tailored specifically to their needs.

This research was conducted in two stages: a landscape analysis, followed by an assessment of existing tools and resources for strengths and weaknesses. The research approach integrates a literature review, walkthrough method and comparative analysis to evaluate tools/resources comprehensively and assess their strengths and weaknesses.

The study evaluated 38 existing tools and resources addressing digital, health, and civic literacy, using criteria such as equity, trustworthiness, human-centric design, inclusivity, ethics, and capacity building. The analysis revealed significant gaps in current resources. Most tools lack multilingual support and alternative formats, excluding users with disabilities or limited digital access. The fragmented approach to literacy—where tools typically address only one aspect of DHC—reduces their effectiveness in fostering comprehensive digital health citizenship. Additionally, while existing resources successfully convey information, they often fail to develop practical skills across all three literacy domains. The heavy reliance on internet connectivity further limits accessibility for individuals in low-resource settings.

Digital health citizenship is more than providing information. It is about equipping young people with the skills and confidence to engage with their health in a meaningful way. This can be done by providing DHC toolkits that meet the needs of young people globally, including cultural, social and digital needs. It is also important for stakeholders in the digital, health and civic space to be more proactive in ensuring that adequate resources are available to young people.

Through this targeted approach to developing comprehensive DHC tools/resources, we can better empower young people to become active participants in their health journey while ensuring no one is left behind in the digital health transformation.