Accepted for/Published in: JMIR Pediatrics and Parenting
Date Submitted: Apr 25, 2023
Date Accepted: Mar 8, 2024
Evaluation of the use of a child healthcare information app and parents’ health literacy: a cross-sectional study among parents with toddlers
ABSTRACT
Background:
Recently, digital media, including Internet websites and smartphone applications (apps), have become popular resources for parents to search for child healthcare information. Higher health literacy of parents in obtaining adequate healthcare information and making proper decisions may lead to improved child health outcomes and a reduction in the burden on healthcare providers. However, few studies have examined the association between the provision of healthcare information apps for infants and parents’ health literacy.
Objective:
This study aimed to evaluate whether parents' use of an app providing child healthcare information is associated with their healthcare knowledge, health literacy, and emergency room (ER) visits for their child.
Methods:
Participants were recruited at checkups for their 1.5-year-old children at health centers in Saku City in 2022. Parents who agreed to participate were included in the study but were excluded if they were not the mother or father of the child or did not have a smartphone. Participants were asked if they had used the Oshiete-Doctor App, which was distributed by Saku City free of charge, to improve the home nursing skills of parents and guardians. Sociodemographic data of parents and children, healthcare knowledge about children, frequency of ER visits in the past 6 months, and health literacy scores of parents measured with the health literacy score (HLS)-EU-Q47 were collected from participants in this cross-sectional survey. Univariable and multivariable analyses were conducted to examine the associations of app use with healthcare knowledge, health literacy, and ER visits.
Results:
In total, 251 respondents completed the survey (response rate: 94%). Although the proportion of healthcare workers was significantly higher among app users than among non-app users (p = 0.005), no other participants' attributes were significantly associated with the use of an app. The proportion of those with higher healthcare knowledge and overall HLS scores was significantly higher among app users than among non-app users (p = 0.001 and 0.03, respectively). Adjusting for potentially confounding covariates showed that these proportions were still significantly higher among app users than among non-app users (p = 0.02 and 0.008, respectively). ER visits were significantly more frequent among app users than among non-app users (p = 0.007) in the univariable analysis, but the association was not significant (p = 0.066) after adjusting for sociodemographic variables.
Conclusions:
This study showed a significant association between the use of healthcare information apps by parents and higher child healthcare knowledge and health literacy. The use of the app may lead to more appropriate health decisions and behaviors in children’s healthcare. Future studies are needed to evaluate the details of ER visits. Clinical Trial: Not applicable
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