Health information should be accurate, relevant, timely, up to date, and transparent. All people should have equal opportunities to access and receive it. It should be easy to understand.

Access to valid health information includes the ability to extract, compare and analyse health information from different sources, to have genuine opportunities to comprehend and to use it. This contributes to the knowledge and awareness needed for individuals to decide on choices of care, to exercise self-management of health.

Digital health information complements information provided by health professionals. It can support peoples’ understanding of, and ways to promote, their health. Access to valid health information is also an important protective measure, acting a means of prevention against disease panic.

In Europe, one in four adolescents has difficulties in assessing the credibility of health information as well as comparing it information from different sources. One in five adolescents has difficulties in finding health related information that is easy for them to understand. Between 25-72% of the adult population report difficulties in judging the reliability of health information.

Finding offline information has become more difficult. As regards digital health information, one in four Europeans considers that their national authorities do not make it easy to find information without using the Internet, in contrast with one in every six Europeans able to find health information.

The validity of information not only relates to its accuracy but to its applicability to one’s life and current needs. Limited health literacy to find, understand, appraise, and use information hinders genuine access to trusted knowledge, depriving individuals from understanding their health, the ways to promote and sustain it, and when and how to seek help.

Access to valid health information is necessary when faced with the rapid spread of misinformation and disinformation via social media and other internet tools and services. This phenomenon - known as ‘infodemic’, coupled with limited health literacy, makes it challenging for individuals to find reliable information from trusted sources, increasing the risks of noncompliance with protective measures and late access to relevant care. People with limited health literacy are more likely to trust information from social media and friends than from health authorities and medical professionals. Poverty-stricken communities suffer more from misinformation due to lower levels of trust in health authorities and health care service providers which, coupled with lower levels of immunisation against other prevalent illnesses, results in disease panic and a lack of access to medical services.

The ability to use and understand numbers (i.e., numeracy) plays an important role in how information is displayed and communicated. However, the complexity of numerical information about health risks and benefits may not always be easily understood. Consider, for example, numerical information on treatment risks and effectiveness, lifestyle benefits, and side effects from medication. In this regard, many people, including older persons, the less affluent, the less educated, and those suffering from cognitive impairments or language difficulties, are more likely to experience difficulties.

Available information should be shared by trusted sources. Access to valid health information supports the ability of individuals to seek and develop a comprehensive understanding of their health. Abilities to assess the validity of health-related information can be developed from a young age through the school curriculum. Health literacy school education in all countries contributes to narrowing the disparities at regional and global level.