Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center, Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, PA.
School of Social Policy and Practice, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA.
JCO Clin Cancer Inform. 2021 Aug;5:872-880. doi: 10.1200/CCI.21.00039.
eHealth literacy, or the ability to seek, find, understand, and appraise health information from electronic sources, has become increasingly relevant in the era of COVID-19, when so many aspects of patient care became dependent on technology. We aimed to understand eHealth literacy among a diverse sample of patients with cancer and discuss ways for health systems and cancer centers to ensure that all patients have access to high-quality care.
A cross-sectional survey of patients with cancer and caregivers was conducted at an NCI-designated cancer center to assess access to the Internet, smartphone ownership, use of mobile apps, willingness to engage remotely with the health care team, and use of the patient portal. Descriptive statistics and bivariate analyses were used to assess frequencies and significant differences between variables.
Of 363 participants, 55% (n = 201) were female, 71% (n = 241) identified as non-Hispanic White, and 29% (n = 85) reported that their highest level of education was a high school diploma. Most (90%, n = 323) reported having access to the Internet and most (82%, n = 283) reported owning a smartphone. Younger patients or those with a college degree were significantly more likely to own a smartphone, access health information online, know how to download an app on their own, have an interest in communicating with their health care team remotely, or have an account on the electronic patient portal.
As cancer centers increasingly engage patients through electronic and mobile applications, patients with low or limited digital literacy may be excluded, exacerbating current cancer health disparities. Patient-, provider- and system-level technology barriers must be understood and mitigated.
在 COVID-19 时代，电子健康素养（即从电子资源中搜索、查找、理解和评估健康信息的能力）变得越来越重要，因为患者护理的许多方面都依赖于技术。我们旨在了解癌症患者群体中的电子健康素养，并讨论医疗系统和癌症中心如何确保所有患者都能获得高质量的护理。
在 NCI 指定的癌症中心对癌症患者和护理人员进行了横断面调查，以评估其互联网接入、智能手机拥有情况、移动应用程序使用情况、远程与医疗团队互动的意愿以及使用患者门户的情况。使用描述性统计和双变量分析来评估变量之间的频率和显著差异。
在 363 名参与者中，55%（n=201）为女性，71%（n=241）为非西班牙裔白人，29%（n=85）报告其最高教育程度为高中文凭。大多数（90%，n=323）报告可以访问互联网，大多数（82%，n=283）报告拥有智能手机。年轻患者或具有大学学历的患者更有可能拥有智能手机、在线获取健康信息、能够自行下载应用程序、对远程与医疗团队沟通感兴趣或拥有电子患者门户账户。
随着癌症中心越来越多地通过电子和移动应用程序与患者互动，那些数字素养较低或有限的患者可能会被排除在外，从而加剧当前的癌症健康差距。必须理解和减轻患者、提供者和系统层面的技术障碍。
