Neter Efrat, Brainin Esther
Behavioral Sciences Department, Ruppin Academic Center, Emeq Hefer, Israel.
J Med Internet Res. 2012 Jan 27;14(1):e19. doi: 10.2196/jmir.1619.
eHealth literacy is defined as the ability of people to use emerging information and communications technologies to improve or enable health and health care.
The goal of this study was to explore whether literacy disparities are diminished or enhanced in the search for health information on the Internet. The study focused on (1) traditional digital divide variables, such as sociodemographic characteristics, digital access, and digital literacy, (2) information search processes, and (3) the outcomes of Internet use for health information purposes.
We used a countrywide representative random-digital-dial telephone household survey of the Israeli adult population (18 years and older, N = 4286). We measured eHealth literacy; Internet access; digital literacy; sociodemographic factors; perceived health; presence of chronic diseases; as well as health information sources, content, search strategies, and evaluation criteria used by consumers.
Respondents who were highly eHealth literate tended to be younger and more educated than their less eHealth-literate counterparts. They were also more active consumers of all types of information on the Internet, used more search strategies, and scrutinized information more carefully than did the less eHealth-literate respondents. Finally, respondents who were highly eHealth literate gained more positive outcomes from the information search in terms of cognitive, instrumental (self-management of health care needs, health behaviors, and better use of health insurance), and interpersonal (interacting with their physician) gains.
The present study documented differences between respondents high and low in eHealth literacy in terms of background attributes, information consumption, and outcomes of the information search. The association of eHealth literacy with background attributes indicates that the Internet reinforces existing social differences. The more comprehensive and sophisticated use of the Internet and the subsequent increased gains among the high eHealth literate create new inequalities in the domain of digital health information. There is a need to educate at-risk and needy groups (eg, chronically ill) and to design technology in a mode befitting more consumers.
电子健康素养被定义为人们使用新兴信息和通信技术来改善或促进健康及医疗保健的能力。
本研究的目标是探讨在互联网上搜索健康信息时，素养差异是会缩小还是会扩大。该研究聚焦于：（1）传统的数字鸿沟变量，如社会人口统计学特征、数字接入和数字素养；（2）信息搜索过程；以及（3）出于健康信息目的使用互联网的结果。
我们对以色列成年人口（18岁及以上，N = 4286）进行了一项全国代表性的随机数字拨号电话家庭调查。我们测量了电子健康素养、互联网接入、数字素养、社会人口统计学因素、感知健康、慢性病的存在情况，以及消费者使用的健康信息来源、内容、搜索策略和评估标准。
与电子健康素养较低的受访者相比，电子健康素养较高的受访者往往更年轻且受教育程度更高。他们也是互联网上各类信息的更活跃消费者，使用更多的搜索策略，并且比电子健康素养较低的受访者更仔细地审查信息。最后，从认知、工具性（医疗保健需求的自我管理、健康行为以及更好地使用医疗保险）和人际（与医生互动）收获方面来看，电子健康素养较高的受访者从信息搜索中获得了更积极的结果。
本研究记录了电子健康素养高和低的受访者在背景属性、信息消费和信息搜索结果方面的差异。电子健康素养与背景属性的关联表明互联网强化了现有的社会差异。互联网的更全面和复杂的使用以及随后电子健康素养高的人群获得的更多收获在数字健康信息领域造成了新的不平等。有必要对高危和有需求的群体（如慢性病患者）进行教育，并以适合更多消费者的方式设计技术。
