Comparative effects of music therapy and aromatherapy on stress, quality of life, and happiness among shift nurses in Korea: a randomized controlled trial.

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a novel infectious disease that first emerged in December 2019 causing millions of deaths worldwide, with 34,572,554 cumulative cases and 35,605 cumulative deaths in South Korea []. COVID-19 was most prevalent in young adults in their 20s and 30s with 10,078,869 cases, while the elderly aged 60 and above had the lowest prevalence with 7,207,868 cases []. The proportion of COVID-19 deaths by age groups was lowest among those aged 40 and younger, at 2.2%, followed by 11.3% among those aged 60 and above, 22.7% among those aged 70 and above, and 59.7% among those aged 80 and above, with mortality rates rising sharply with age []. The COVID-19 pandemic had a profound impact on the way people live, including social distancing and home isolation []. As a result, most people have experienced uncertainty about their future, which negatively impacted the physical and mental health of people of all ages []. In particular, young adults perceived the situation caused by COVID-19 as a major threat to their personal economic situation, while older adults perceived it as a major threat to their health, indicating a clear difference in perceptions of COVID-19 by age groups []. In fact, older adults had a higher fatality rate from COVID-19 compared to younger adults [], and adherence to precautions to prevent the spread of COVID-19 was lowest in the 18-29 age group and highest in the 60 and older age group []. Health literacy refers to an individual's ability to critically evaluate available health information []. With the majority of COVID-19 related information available online as social distancing progressed [], digital health literacy emerged as an important concept to assess the quality and appropriateness of internet information for obtaining and applying information to make health-related decisions []. COVID-19 related digital health literacy influenced their health information utilization and preventive behaviors [], and the process of digital health literacy utilization provided psychosocial support for through online communities []. However, there are inequalities in digital health literacy across socioeconomic levels [], and there are differences in the level of digital health literacy and related behaviors by age groups.