Moderation modelling of COVID-19 digital health literacy and sense of coherence across subjective social class and age among university students in Ghana

Abstract

Abstract Background The study assessed the moderation modelling of digital health literacy and sense of coherence across subjective social class and age among university students in Ghana during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods A total of 1160 students were conveniently sampled from two universities namely, the University of Education, Winneba and University of Cape Coast, using the descriptive cross-sectional survey design. Preliminary analysis was performed using descriptive statistics, whilst multivariate multiple regression and moderation analyses (Haye’s Model) were employed to analyze the main data. Results The study revealed that COVID-19 digital health literacy is directly and positively associated with sense of coherence among university students. Further, higher subjective social class positively and strongly moderated the relationship between COVID-19 digital health literacy and sense of coherence among university students. Additionally, the relationship between COVID-19 digital health literacy and sense of coherence was indirectly prominent among relatively older university students than younger ones. Conclusions The findings have implications for university management/authorities and public health agencies to organize effective orientation and self-management training programmes for university students.