Accepted for/Published in: JMIR Nursing
Date Submitted: May 26, 2022
Date Accepted: Jun 28, 2022
Date Submitted to PubMed: Oct 27, 2022
Digital Health Literacy during COVID-19 Pandemic among Health Care Providers in resource limited settings
ABSTRACT
Background:
Digital health literacy is the broader understanding of the capabilities and resources required for individuals to use and benefit from e-health services. Digital health literacy is becoming increasingly important as individuals continue to seek medical advice from various web-based sources, especially social media during the pandemics like Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).
Objective:
This study aimed to assess health professionals' digital health literacy level and associated factors in South-west Ethiopia.
Methods:
Institutional based cross-sectional study design was conducted. Simple random sampling technique was used to select 423 study participants among health professionals. SPSS version 20 software was used for data entry and analysis. A pretested self-administered questionnaire was used to collect the required data. Multivariable logistic regression was used to examine the association between the Digital Health literacy skill and associated factors. Significance value was obtained at 95% CI and p < 0.05.
Results:
overall 43.5% of respondents had high digital Health literacy skills from the total participants. High Computer literacy [AOR= 4.43, 95% CI: (2.34, 5.67)], MSc and above [AOR=3.42, 95% CI: (2.31, 4.90)] , internet use[AOR=4.00, 95% CI: (1.78, 4.02)] , perceived ease of use [AOR=2.65, 95% CI: (1.35, 4.65)], monthly income of >15000 [AOR=7.55, 95% CI: (6.43, 9.44)], good knowledge of e-Health [AOR=2.22, 95% CI :( 1.32, 4.03)] , favorable attitudes [AOR=3.11, 95% CI : (2.11, 4.32)] and perceived usefulness [AOR=3.43, 95% CI: (2.43, 5.44)] were variables associated with e-Health literacy level.
Conclusions:
In general, less than half of the study participants had high digital Health literacy level. High Computer literacy, MSc and above, frequent internet use, perceived digital Health as easiness, income of >15000, good knowledge of digital Health, favorable attitudes and perceived usefulness were the most determinant factors. Having high computer literacy, frequent use of Internet, Perceived ease of use, Perceived usefulness, favorable attitude, and high level of education will help to promote level of digital Health literacy.
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