Li Shaojie, Cui Guanghui, Yin Yongtian, Xu Huilan
Department of Social Medicine and Health Service Management, Xiangya School of Public Health, Central South University, Changsha, China.
School of Public Health, Peking University, Beijing, China.
Digit Health. 2023 May 25;9:20552076231178431. doi: 10.1177/20552076231178431. eCollection 2023 Jan-Dec.
Digital divide in health-related technology use is a prominent issue for older adults. Improving eHealth literacy may be an important solution to this problem. This study aimed to explore the associations between health literacy, digital skills, and eHealth literacy among older Chinese adults.
A total of 2,144 older adults (mean age, 72.01 ± 6.96 years) from Jinan City, China participated in this study. The eHealth Literacy Scale was used to measure eHealth literacy in older adults. A linear regression model was used to analyze the associations among health literacy, digital skills, and eHealth literacy in older Chinese adults.
The mean eHealth literacy score of the older adults was 17.56 ± 9.61. After adjusting for sociodemographic characteristics and experience of Internet usage, the results of the linear regression showed that health literacy ( = 0.258, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.215-0.302, < 0.001) and digital skills ( = 0.654, 95% CI = 0.587-0.720, < 0.001) were positively associated with eHealth literacy. Sensitivity analyses revealed that this association remained robust.
The level of eHealth literacy in older Chinese adults is low. Health literacy and digital skills are associated with eHealth literacy in older adults. In the future, eHealth literacy intervention research should be considered from the perspective of health literacy and digital skills.
健康相关技术使用方面的数字鸿沟是老年人面临的一个突出问题。提高电子健康素养可能是解决这一问题的重要办法。本研究旨在探讨中国老年人群体中健康素养、数字技能与电子健康素养之间的关联。
来自中国济南市的2144名老年人（平均年龄72.01 ± 6.96岁）参与了本研究。采用电子健康素养量表来测量老年人的电子健康素养。运用线性回归模型分析中国老年人群体中健康素养、数字技能与电子健康素养之间的关联。
老年人的电子健康素养平均得分为17.56 ± 9.61。在对社会人口学特征和互联网使用经验进行调整后，线性回归结果显示，健康素养（β = 0.258，95%置信区间（CI）= 0.215 - 0.302，P < 0.001）和数字技能（β = 0.654，95% CI = 0.587 - 0.720，P < 0.001）与电子健康素养呈正相关。敏感性分析表明这种关联依然稳健。
中国老年人的电子健康素养水平较低。健康素养和数字技能与老年人的电子健康素养相关。未来，应从健康素养和数字技能的角度考虑电子健康素养干预研究。
