JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

With the growing prevalence of information and communication technologies, health-related information and social support have become increasingly accessible online. However, evidence remains scarce on how e-health and social support influence the well-being of employed women who are also caregivers.

Objective:

This study aimed to assess the relationship between social support and well-being and explore the enhancing role of e-health utilization.

Methods:

We used data from a web-based survey of 10,000 employed women aged 20–65. A quota random sampling approach was used to match participants to the population by age and geographic area, including women balancing work with childcare for children under seven or caregiving responsibilities. After conducting descriptive statistics and the Kendall rank correlation coefficient, the enhancing effect of e-health on the relationship between social support and four well-being indicators (life satisfaction, perceived life purpose, happiness, and anxiety) was estimated using a Bayesian structural equation model (BSEM).

Results:

We included 2,456 employed women, of whom 1,784 (72·6%) received social support, and 1,635 (66·6%) obtained health-related information via e-health. There were significant differences between well-being, social support, and the use of e-health, but only a minor correlation was present between the measures. The posterior distribution by BSEM showed the standardized total effects were 0·20 (95% credible interval (CI): 0·13–0·27) in the group without e-health use and 0·47 (95% CI: 0·45–0·50) in the group with e-health use.

Conclusions:

The findings suggest that e-health might enhance the positive impact of social support on the well-being of employed female caregivers. Further research should investigate the mechanisms underlying this relationship and the potential benefits of e-health interventions.