The Measurements and an Elaborated Understanding of Chinese eHealth Literacy (C-eHEALS) in Chronic Patients in China

The rapid rise of Internet-based technologies to disseminate health information and services has been shown to enhance online health information acquisition. A Chinese version of the electronic health literacy scale (C-eHEALS) was developed to measure patients’ combined knowledge and perceived skills at finding and applying electronic health information to health problems. A valid sample of 352 interviewees responded to the online questionnaire, and their responses were analyzed. The C-eHEALS, by showing high internal consistency and predictive validity, is an effective screening tool for detecting levels of health literacy in clinical settings. Individuals’ sociodemographic status, perceived health status, and level of health literacy were identified for describing technology users’ characteristics. A strong association between eHealth literacy level, media information use, and computer literacy was found. The emphasis of face-to-face inquiry for obtaining health information was important in the low eHealth literacy group while Internet-based technologies crucially affected decision-making skills in the high eHealth literacy group. This information is timely because it implies that health care providers can use the C-eHEALS to screen eHealth literacy skills and empower patients with chronic diseases with online resources.

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Literacy, Numeracy, and Health Information Seeking Among Middle-Aged and Older Adults in the United States

Journal of Aging and Health ◽

10.1177/0898264318800918 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 32 (1-2) ◽

pp. 33-41 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Takashi Yamashita ◽

Anthony R. Bardo ◽

Darren Liu ◽

Phyllis A. Cummins

Keyword(s):

United States ◽

Older Adults ◽

Health Literacy ◽

Health Information ◽

Health Care Providers ◽

Information Seeking ◽

The United States ◽

Health Information Seeking ◽

Care Providers ◽

Nationally Representative

Objectives: Health literacy is often viewed as an essential skill set for successfully seeking health information to make health-related decisions. However, this general understanding has yet to be established with the use of nationally representative data. The objective of this study was to provide the first nationally representative empirical evidence that links health information seeking behaviors with health literacy among middle-age to older adults in the United States. Methods: Data were obtained from the 2012/2014 Program for the International Assessment of Adult Literacy (PIAAC). Our analytic sample is representative of adults age 45 to 74 years ( N = 2,989). Results: Distinct components of health literacy (i.e., literacy and numeracy) were uniquely associated with the use of different health information sources (e.g., health professionals, the Internet, television). Discussion: Findings should be useful for government agencies and health care providers interested in targeting health communications, as well as researchers who focus on health disparities.

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Viewpoint: Health literacy and patient portals

Journal of Primary Health Care ◽

10.1071/hc15172 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 7 (2) ◽

pp. 172 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Yulong Gu ◽

Martin Orr ◽

Jim Warren

Keyword(s):

Health Care ◽

Health Literacy ◽

Health Information ◽

Health Care Providers ◽

Easy Access ◽

Patient Portal ◽

Care Providers ◽

Patient Portals ◽

Health Consumer ◽

Improve Patient

Health literacy has been described as the capacity to obtain, process, and understand basic health information and services needed to make appropriate health decisions. Improving health literacy may serve to promote concordance with therapy, engage patients in their own health care, and improve health outcomes. Patient portal technology aims at enabling patients and families to have easy access to key information in their own medical records and to communicate with their health care providers electronically. However, there is a gap in our understanding of how portals will improve patient outcome. The authors believe patient portal technology presents an opportunity to improve patient concordance with prescribed therapy, if adequate support is provided to equip patients (and family/carers) with the knowledge needed to utilise the health information available via the portals. Research is needed to understand what a health consumer will use patient portals for and how to support a user to realise the technology?s potential.

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A validation study of the Norwegian version of the Health Literacy Questionnaire: A robust nine-dimension factor model

Scandinavian Journal of Public Health ◽

10.1177/1403494820926428 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 140349482092642 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Astrid K. Wahl ◽

Åsmund Hermansen ◽

Richard H. Osborne ◽

Marie Hamilton Larsen

Keyword(s):

Health Literacy ◽

Health Information ◽

Health Care Providers ◽

Factor Model ◽

Care Providers ◽

Cross Sectional Survey ◽

Good Reliability ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Norwegian Version ◽

Health Literacy Questionnaire

Objective: This study aimed to undertake a rigorous psychometric evaluation of the nine-scale Norwegian version of the Health Literacy Questionnaire (HLQ) based on data from a sample of people with psoriasis. Methods: Cross-sectional survey data were collected from 825 adults with psoriasis who previously participated in the Norwegian Climate Heliotherapy programme. To investigate the factorial validity of the Norwegian HLQ, confirmatory factor analyses were carried out using Stata. Results: A highly restricted model fit with no cross-loadings or correlated residuals was acceptable for three of the nine scales (‘Feeling understood and supported by health-care providers’, ‘Appraisal of health information’ and ‘Ability to find good health information’). After minor model adjustments of the other scales, one-factor models were acceptable. All scales showed acceptable internal consistency, with Cronbach’s alpha ranging from 0.71 to 0.87. Except for three items, all items had high to acceptable factor loadings. Conclusions: This study of the Norwegian HLQ replicates the original factor structure of the Australian HLQ, indicating the questionnaire has cogent and independent scales with good reliability. Researchers, programme implementers and policymakers could use the Norwegian version of the HLQ with confidence to generate reliable information on health literacy for different purposes.

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Health Literacy and Health/Risk Communication

Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Communication ◽

10.1093/acrefore/9780190228613.013.39 ◽

2017 ◽

Author(s):

Michael Mackert ◽

Sara Champlin ◽

Jisoo Ahn

Keyword(s):

Health Care ◽

Health Literacy ◽

Health Outcomes ◽

Digital Media ◽

Health Information ◽

Health Care Providers ◽

Health Care Services ◽

The Elderly ◽

The United States ◽

Care Providers

Health literacy—defined as the ability of an individual to obtain, process, understand, and communicate about health information—contributes significantly to health outcomes and costs to the U.S. health-care system. Approximately one-quarter to one-half of U.S. adults struggle with health information, which includes understanding patient education materials, reading medication labels, and communicating with health-care providers. Low health literacy is more common among the elderly, those who speak English as a second language, and those of lower socioeconomic status. In addition to conceptualizing health literacy as an individual-level skill, it can also be considered an organizational or community-level ability. Increased attention to the field of health literacy has resulted in debates about the definition and the best ways to assess health literacy; there is also a strong and growing movement within the field of health literacy research and practice to frame health literacy less as a deficit to overcome and more as an approach to empowering patients and improving outcomes. As health-care providers have recognized the importance of health literacy, workshops, and training programs have been developed and evaluated to improve the care of low-health-literate patients. Similarly, health promotion professionals have developed best practices for reaching low-health-literate audiences with traditional and new digital media, which can also increase access for patients with hearing or visual impairments. Additionally, recent policy changes in the United States, including those related to the Affordable Care Act, contribute to a greater focus and regulation of factors that impact health literacy. Researchers and practitioners together are advancing understanding of health literacy, its relationship to health outcomes and health-care costs, and improved strategies for improving the health of lower health literate patients. Development and review of health literacy pieces can aid in shared decision making and provide insights for patients on various health-care services.

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Development of health literacy in persons and caregivers living with dementia: A qualitative directed content analysis

Dementia ◽

10.1177/14713012211049691 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 147130122110496

Author(s):

Michelle Kimzey ◽

Carol J. Howe ◽

Chelsea Martin ◽

Jim McLarty ◽

Ramona Baucham

Keyword(s):

Health Care ◽

Content Analysis ◽

Health Literacy ◽

Health Information ◽

Health Care Providers ◽

Daily Life ◽

Medication Management ◽

Community Setting ◽

Care Providers ◽

Directed Content Analysis

Background Persons living with dementia and their caregivers need health information to understand and manage daily life. Previous studies focused on the associations of health literacy and cognitive impairment with less exploring if and how individuals develop health literacy during the course of the disease. Purpose This descriptive qualitative study aimed to explore the development of health literacy competencies among persons living with dementia and their caregivers. Methods Directed content analysis of six focus groups conducted in the community setting (15 persons living with dementia and 28 caregivers) was completed, using predetermined categories from the Integrated Model of Health Literacy: access, understand, appraise, and apply health information. Findings Participants described developing health literacy competencies over time, moving from a dependence on health care providers to becoming their own experts. Although health care providers were involved in the diagnosis and medication management, most participants admitted that they provided very little information on how to manage their daily life with dementia and often failed to inform them of community resources. Conclusion Participants seemed to find dementia resources on their own for both education and support, often stumbling upon them by accident. Health care providers should promote the health literacy competencies of their patients and caregivers by more intentionally providing dementia health and community resource information.

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Health and web for women: preliminary results of “SEI Donna” survey

European Journal of Public Health ◽

10.1093/eurpub/ckz185.428 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 29 (Supplement_4) ◽

Author(s):

L Covolo ◽

M Guana ◽

G Bonaccorsi ◽

L Brunelli ◽

S Castaldi ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Health Literacy ◽

Health Information ◽

European Population ◽

Second Opinion ◽

Health Issues ◽

Online Questionnaire ◽

Public Health Communication ◽

Ehealth Literacy ◽

Health Products ◽

The Web

Abstract Background In 2018, 52% of the European population use the Web to seek health information and 77% consider it a useful tool to improve their knowledge about health. The Italian survey “SEI Donna” aims to investigate knowledge, perceptions and use of the web tools in women regarding health issues. Methods We used an online questionnaire to collect data including the type of online research and the degree of trust towards different sources. We also assessed health literacy (HL) and eHealth literacy scale (eHEALS) using validated tests. Results Of 7291 women who completed the questionnaire, 96% (n = 7022) seeks health information online. The 33% of women follows social media groups on health. One third of sample (31%) purchased a health product online, particularly cosmetics (75%) and supplements (41%). More than one third of sample thinks that information retrieved by web improve their health (35%) and influence their habits (34%). Half of sample (52%) searched online for a second opinion after medical examination. The reason was the need of a deepening in the 67% of cases. Overall, the HL is functional in 34% of cases, marginal in 56% and low in the rest (10%). Women with low HL trust less health information reported by institutional websites than women with functional HL, respectively 73% vs 86% (p < 0.001) and the eHEALS score of women less trusting is lower than those trusting, 23±7 vs 28±7 (p < 0.001). One third of women declares not to be able to evaluate the reliability of a website particularly women with low HL (36%) compared to those with functional HL (20%), p < 0.001. Women reporting not to be able to evaluate the reliability of a website have eHEALS score lower than women who indicated an institutional website, respectively 24±7 vs 28±7 (p < 0.001). Conclusions The results confirm the large use of the web as a tool to seek health information, have a second opinion and buy health products. A good level of HL and eHEALS seem to make women more skilled in surfing the web. Key messages The results confirm the importance to put effort on strategies aiming to improve health literacy and eHealth literacy in the population. In the public health communication perspective, the fact that one third of women thinks that information retrieved by web improve their health and influence their habits, must be considered.

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Health literacy levels of British adults: a cross-sectional survey using two domains of the Health Literacy Questionnaire (HLQ)

BMC Public Health ◽

10.1186/s12889-020-09727-w ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 20 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Rebecca M. Simpson ◽

Emma Knowles ◽

Alicia O’Cathain

Keyword(s):

Health Care ◽

Health Literacy ◽

Health Information ◽

Health Care Providers ◽

Health Condition ◽

Population Characteristics ◽

Care Providers ◽

Cross Sectional Survey ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Health Literacy Questionnaire

Abstract Background A person’s health literacy determines whether they are able to make appropriate health decisions and are able to follow treatment instructions. This is important because low health literacy is associated with mortality and extra costs to the healthcare system. Our aim was to describe the health literacy levels of British adults using a nationally representative population survey, and show how health literacy levels vary by population characteristics. Methods A population based cross-sectional survey including questions from two domains from the Health Literacy Questionnaire™: 1) Understanding health information well enough to know what to do, and 2) Ability to actively engage with health care providers. Both domains are made up of 5 Likert style questions with 5 levels ranging from ‘cannot do or always difficult’ (1) to ‘always easy’ (5). The survey was conducted by NatCen in Britain (2018) as part of the annual British Social Attitudes survey. We used weighted descriptive analyses and regression to explore the relationship between population characteristics and health literacy. Weighted analyses were used to ensure the sample was representative of the British population. Results A total of 2309 responded to the questionnaire. The mean score for ‘understanding information’ was 3.98 (95% CI: 3.94, 4.02) and for ‘ability to engage’ was 3.83 (95% CI: 3.80, 3.87), where 5 is the highest score. 19.4% had some level of difficulty reading and understanding written health information, and 23.2% discussing health concerns with health care providers. The adjusted logistic regression for ‘understanding information’ showed that those with lower health literacy were more likely to be in the most socially deprived quintile (OR 2.500 95% CI: 1.180, 5.296), have a limiting health condition or disability (OR 4.326 95% CI: 2.494, 7.704), and have no educational qualifications (OR 7.588 95% CI: 3.305, 17.422). This was similar for the ‘ability to engage’ domain. Conclusions This study described the distribution of health literacy levels for the British population in 2018. Interventions to improve health literacy will best be targeted at those with lower levels of education, those living in the most deprived areas, and those with a limiting health condition or disability.

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eHealth: advantages, disadvantages and guiding principles for the future. (Preprint)

10.2196/preprints.15366 ◽

2019 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Bruno José Nievas Soriano ◽

Sonia García Duarte ◽

Ana María Fernández Alonso ◽

Antonio Bonillo Perales ◽

Tesifón Parrón Carreño

Keyword(s):

Health Care ◽

Health Information ◽

Information And Communication Technologies ◽

Health Care Providers ◽

Communication Technologies ◽

Care Providers ◽

Ehealth Literacy ◽

User Empowerment ◽

The Future ◽

Information And Communication

BACKGROUND Information and communication technologies have changed the way we access, analyse and use health information. eHealth is a new concept that has been in use for almost two decades. Nevertheless, even today, there is little consensus on eHealth definitions, its main advantages or disadvantages and the future development of eHealth research. OBJECTIVE This paper aims to define the concept of eHealth, recognise its main advantages and potential harms or challenges and acknowledge the aspects of eHealth that need to be explored in future research. METHODS A literature review was conducted by searching all peer-reviewed articles published prior to February 2019 in PubMed. The search was conducted using the following keywords: «eHealth», «eHealth definition», «eHealth advantages», «eHealth problems» and «eHealth future». Of the numerous articles retrieved we analysed the titles, their abstracts, the language and if we could access full-text versions. We were able to select one hundred articles that included contents related to our objectives. RESULTS Of the one hundred articles reviewed, twenty studies contained eHealth definitions. The more mentioned aspects, within the definitions, were the information and communication technologies, health care delivery, the Internet and the importance of being user centred. Twenty nine articles mentioned advantages. The literature showed that the main advantage was that eHealth improved the accessibility to health information, followed by the chance of tailoring the health interventions. Other themes that emerged were user empowerment or the opportunity to reduce costs. Seventy three articles mentioned eHealth disadvantages. The most quoted was the poor quality of the information available, followed by the user’s difficulty to properly evaluate that quality, the existence of technical or not easily understandable information, or the risk of potential harms. Forty articles mentioned recommendations for future eHealth research. The most cited proposals were to improve user’s health and eHealth literacy, and health care providers implication in eHealth development and delivery. CONCLUSIONS Despite not finding consensus around the eHealth definition, we have found some features that can help to define eHealth as the delivery of user centred health care services through information and communication technologies, mainly Internet. The main advantages of using eHealth services are the improvement of accessibility to health, the opportunity to tailor the interventions, user empowerment and cost-effectiveness. Among the literature there are concerns about quality, information being intelligible, the digital divide or the risk of potential harms. Most mentioned guidelines for the future are to improve user’s health and eHealth literacy, health care providers implication in eHealth development and delivery, and the need of more research about the effectiveness of the eHealth interventions.

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Commentary: the patient's memory stick may complement electronic health records

Australian Health Review ◽

10.1071/ah050401 ◽

2005 ◽

Vol 29 (4) ◽

pp. 401 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Heather Leslie

Keyword(s):

Electronic Health Records ◽

Health Information ◽

Health Care Providers ◽

State Government ◽

Building Blocks ◽

Public Health Research ◽

Care Providers ◽

Health Records ◽

Communication Processes ◽

Electronic Health

THE SITUATION DESCRIBED by Stevens1 in the foregoing article is similar to that navigated by thousands of individuals in hospitals around Australia each day. Stevens has been able to identify gaps in communication, processes and timely availability of pertinent information which potentially put her health at risk. There is little doubt that her call for ?legible and enduring record systems accessible by appropriate people? (page 400) would be supported by most of the general community. Health information management is hugely complex, with large numbers of concepts and high rates of clinical knowledge change. Electronic health records (EHRs) are definitely not simple concepts that are solved by storing information in a relational database for use in a single organisational silo, but require the capture of the full breadth of health information in a manner that can be easily stored, retrieved in varying contexts, and searched. Then there is the additional and unique requirement of sharing this same information with a range of health care providers with differing foci, requirements, technical tools and term-sets. When you add in some of the other more lateral requirements such as medico-legal accountability, pooling data for public health research, and privacy, consent and authorisation for sharing sensitive health information, it becomes increasingly evident that health data management has no real equivalent in other industries. In order for shareable electronic health records to become ubiquitous, there are numerous building blocks that need to be in place ? appropriate levels of funding, legislative changes, consensus on a range of standards, stakeholder engagement, implementation of massive change management programs and so on, as outlined by Grain.2 Australia?s solution is the HealthConnect program ? a joint Commonwealth and state government initiative ? which is gradually identifying the required pieces, and laying them out in a systematic way to solve the e-health system puzzle.

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Health Literacy, Information Seeking Patterns and Perceived Outcomes among Pregnant Women in Two Districts of Tanzania

10.21203/rs.3.rs-156717/v1 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Columba Mbekenga ◽

Reuben Mutagaywa ◽

Edda Tandi Lwoga

Keyword(s):

Health Literacy ◽

Maternal Health ◽

Pregnant Women ◽

Health Information ◽

Health Care Providers ◽

Low Income ◽

Information Seeking ◽

Health Knowledge ◽

Care Providers ◽

High Level

Abstract BackgroundPregnant women that engage in information seeking process are more likely to have a high level of knowledge about their health, be confident to discuss their health concerns with their health care providers and report better health promotion activities than individuals who do not seek health information. However, health literacy influence pregnant women’s information seeking behaviours and consequently their health knowledge and health outcomes. Limited studies have explored the effects of health literacy on the outcomes associated with the information seeking among pregnant women in Tanzania. This study investigates the relationship between health literacy and information seeking patterns and its associated outcomes among pregnant women in Tanzania. MethodsA cross- sectional survey was conducted among 260 pregnant women aged 18 and above attending selected antenatal clinics (ANC) in Tanzania. Health literacy was assessed using a REALM-SF instrument while information seeking patterns while the associated outcomes were measured using three Likert scales. Descriptive and analytic analyzes were performed using the SPSS, version 24.ResultsAmong the demographic factors, level of education was significantly associated with the level of health literacy (p<0.001). The level of health literacy was better among married pregnant women than those who were not married, and among those who have high income more than those with low-income. The number of ANC visits, gestational age and parity were significantly associated with the level of health literacy (p<0.05). A significant relationship was found between health literacy with seeking health information from village leaders (p < 0.0001) and all online information sources (p < 0.05). Pregnant women with high level of health literacy strongly agree to confirm (from health professionals) the validity of health information they receive from different sources and to recommend the importance of searching health information to others (p<0.001).ConclusionHealth literacy has great influence on maternal health behaviors and the associated outcomes. Maternal health interventions targeting both individual women and the public to ensure high health literacy levels across communities are required. An integration of online/ web-based health information in ANC health educational packages would warrant pregnant women access to high quality health information.

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