Newhouse Nikki, Lupiáñez-Villanueva Francisco, Codagnone Cristiano, Atherton Helen
Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom.
J Med Internet Res. 2015 Mar 6;17(3):e58. doi: 10.2196/jmir.3700.
The use of the Internet for health purposes is growing steadily, yet the use of asynchronous communication tools for health care purposes remains undeveloped. The introduction of email as a method of communication in health care has the potential to impact on both patients and health care professionals.
This study aims to describe the characteristics of people who have sent or received an email to or from their doctor, nurse, or health care organization, by country and in relation to demographics, health care resource use, and health status factors.
We conducted a secondary analysis of data (N=14,000) collected from the online Citizens and Information Communication Technology for Health survey, a project undertaken in 2011 by the Institute for Prospective Technology Studies of the European Commission's Joint Research Centre. The survey was developed to understand and characterize European citizens' use of information communication technologies for health. Descriptive and statistical analyses of association were used to interpret the data.
Denmark reported the highest level of emails sent/received (507/1000, 50.70%). The lowest level reported was by participants in France (187/1000, 18.70%). Men used email communication for health care more than women, as did respondents in the 16-24 age group and those educated to tertiary level or still within the education system. As self-reported health state worsens, the proportion of people reporting having sent or received an email within the context of health care increases. Email use, poor health, multimorbidity, and number of visits to a physician are positively correlated.
The use of email communication within the context of European health care is extremely varied. The relationship between high email use, poor health, doctor visits, and multimorbidity is especially pertinent: provision of asynchronous communication for such groups is favored by policymakers. Low reported email use by country may not necessarily reflect low interest in using email for health care: local health policies and technical infrastructures may be significant factors in the delay in implementation of alternative forms of routine health communication.
互联网在健康领域的应用正稳步增长，但用于医疗目的的异步通信工具仍未得到充分发展。将电子邮件作为医疗沟通方式引入，有可能对患者和医疗专业人员产生影响。
本研究旨在按国家以及与人口统计学、医疗资源使用和健康状况因素相关的情况，描述那些与医生、护士或医疗机构收发电子邮件的人群的特征。
我们对从在线公民与健康信息通信技术调查收集的数据（N = 14,000）进行了二次分析，该调查是欧盟委员会联合研究中心前瞻性技术研究所于2011年开展的一个项目。该调查旨在了解和描述欧洲公民对信息通信技术在健康领域的使用情况。使用描述性和关联性统计分析来解释数据。
丹麦报告的电子邮件收发水平最高（507/1000，50.70%）。报告水平最低的是法国的参与者（187/1000，18.70%）。男性比女性更多地使用电子邮件进行医疗沟通，16 - 24岁年龄组的受访者以及受过高等教育或仍在教育系统内的人也是如此。随着自我报告的健康状况恶化，报告在医疗保健背景下收发电子邮件的人群比例增加。电子邮件使用、健康状况不佳、多种疾病并存以及看医生的次数呈正相关。
欧洲医疗保健领域中电子邮件通信的使用差异极大。电子邮件高使用量、健康状况不佳、看医生次数和多种疾病并存之间的关系尤为相关：政策制定者倾向于为这类人群提供异步通信。各国报告的电子邮件低使用量不一定反映出对使用电子邮件进行医疗保健的低兴趣：当地的卫生政策和技术基础设施可能是常规健康沟通替代形式实施延迟的重要因素。
