Previously submitted to: Journal of Medical Internet Research (no longer under consideration since Jul 02, 2021)
Date Submitted: Mar 25, 2021
Open Peer Review Period: Mar 25, 2021 - May 20, 2021
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Chronic Patients’ eHealth Literacy Skills and Related Factors: The Example of Turkey
ABSTRACT
Background:
Previous studies on the eHealth suggested that chronic patients use the internet to obtain health information and to manage their health conditions. It has been revealed, particularly during the pandemic, that the internet has a significant potential to become a crucial health information source for chronic patients. However, there are both fluctuant and constant factors that influence the various eHealth literacy skills of chronic patients. It is critical to discover the current parameters influencing eHealth literacy skills in countries such as Turkey, which is in the process of adapting technology use, while eHealth literacy is gaining attention globally.
Objective:
This study aims to reveal the eHealth literacy skills of chronic patients and to investigate the relations and patterns between eHealth literacy skills and various factors such as demographics, search strategies and health information sources, and to explain their effects on eHealth literacy in Turkey in Izmir.
Methods:
The study, based on a quantitative research, including the administration of a questionnaire. A total of 604 chronic patients who applied to the five popular identified hospitals in Izmir, Turkey, responded to the questionnaire. The questionnaire, which includes information on demographics, social media platforms, internet usage frequency, eHealth literacy scale, search strategies scale, and health information sources scale, was conducted with the participants. CHAID analysis method was implemented to analyze the results and determine the relations between dependent and independent variables.
Results:
The type of the social media platform used by participants was an influencing factor on eHealth literacy scores. Finding health information across multiple platforms, such as Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest, was found to be a positive predictor of eHealth literacy. (25.3%, 153 patients). Additionally, a positive correlation has been found between the use of the internet as a source of health information and eHealth literacy scores while using the strategy of “following the links that appear on websites” is positively correlated with eHealth literacy scores.
Conclusions:
The study's findings indicate that using the internet and various social media platforms to obtain health information has a positive effect on eHealth literacy skills. Patients with greater interaction with the internet and its substructures, as well as a greater interest in utilizing the technological features of digital environments, were found to be more qualified eHealth literates. However, given the pollution of health information on the Internet, the information channel through which health information is obtained is also a critical issue in terms of health literacy. Online health knowledge should be scientifically promoted by medical institutions or governmental organizations in order to be widely and effectively disseminated, particularly in countries such as Turkey.
Citation
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