Accepted for/Published in: JMIR Human Factors
Date Submitted: Feb 13, 2025
Open Peer Review Period: Feb 13, 2025 - Apr 10, 2025
Date Accepted: Jun 3, 2025
(closed for review but you can still tweet)
Health-Related Internet Use Among Outpatients Undergoing Cancer Treatment during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Cross-Sectional Survey Study
ABSTRACT
Background:
Digitally-based applications are assuming an ever more prominent role in clinical settings. Collectively referred to as "eHealth," such applications offer a cost-effective and secure use of information and communication technologies in healthcare. Medical professionals and patients frequently use the internet to search for information. In contrast, health-related apps are not yet widely established in routine care. Studies show that while the demand for eHealth applications has grown only slightly, they have the potential to improve medical care and quality of life for cancer patients. However, integrating these tools into daily medical practice requires understanding the target group.
Objective:
The aim of this study was to assess eHealth usage among cancer patients receiving chemotherapy at an outpatient ward.
Methods:
303 patients receiving outpatient care at the haemato-oncology and gynecology departments agreed to participate. The 21-item questionnaire provided patient-reported information related to general internet abilities and usage rates including health-related applications.
Results:
99% (299/303) participants reported regular internet usage, 72.6 % (217/299) reported using the internet to search for health-related information and 79.1% (235/297) expressed readiness to communicate digitally with health care providers. Decreasing age and higher internet literacy correlated with a more frequent use of eHealth applications (p<.001). Users of IOS tended to use therapy apps more frequently compared to users of other operating systems (p=.034). 25% (68/275) reported increased internet usage during the pandemic.
Conclusions:
The majority of patients were regular internet users and expressed an openness to eHealth applications. Factors such as internet literacy and average age are important to consider when implementing new eHealth applications in a clinical setting. Despite the positive influence of the pandemic on internet usage, there remains a gap between self-reported readiness and real use of eHealth applications.
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Copyright
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