Yuen Eva, Winter Natalie, Savira Feby, Huggins Catherine E, Nguyen Lemai, Cooper Paul, Peeters Anna, Anderson Kate, Bhoyroo Rahul, Crowe Sarah, Ugalde Anna
School of Nursing and Midwifery, Deakin University, Burwood, Australia.
Centre for Quality and Patient Safety Research, Institute for Health Transformation, Deakin University, Burwood, Australia.
Interact J Med Res. 2024 Jul 26;13:e46888. doi: 10.2196/46888.
Digital health literacy has emerged as a critical skill set to navigate the digital age.
This review sought to broadly summarize the literature on associations between digital health literacy and (1) sociodemographic characteristics, (2) health resource use, and (3) health outcomes in the general population, patient groups, or parent or caregiver groups.
A rapid review of literature published between January 2016 and May 2022 was conducted through a search of 4 web-based databases. Articles were included on the basis of the following keywords: "measured digital health literacy," "digital literacy," "ehealth literacy," "e-health literacy," "electronic health literacy," or "internet health literacy" in adult populations; participants were from countries where English was the primary language; studies had to be cross-sectional, longitudinal, prospective, or retrospective, and published in English.
Thirty-six articles met the inclusion criteria. Evidence on the associations between digital health literacy and sociodemographic characteristics varied (27/36, 75% included studies), with higher education (16/21, 76.2% studies that examined the association) and younger age (12/21, 57.1% studies) tending to predict higher digital health literacy; however, other studies found no associations. No differences between genders were found across the majority of studies. Evidence across ethnic groups was too limited to draw conclusions; some studies showed that those from racial and ethnic minority groups had higher digital health literacy than White individuals, while other studies showed no associations. Higher digital health literacy was associated with digital health resource use in the majority of studies (20/36, 55.6%) that examined this relationship. In addition, higher digital health literacy was also associated with health outcomes across 3 areas (psychosocial outcomes; chronic disease and health management behaviors; and physical outcomes) across 17 included studies (17/36, 47.2%) that explored these relationships. However, not all studies on the relationship among digital health literacy and health resource use and health outcomes were in the expected direction.
The review presents mixed results regarding the relationship between digital health literacy and sociodemographic characteristics, although studies broadly found that increased digital health literacy was positively associated with improved health outcomes and behaviors. Further investigations of digital health literacy on chronic disease outcomes are needed, particularly across diverse groups. Empowering individuals with the skills to critically access and appraise reliable health information on digital platforms and devices is critical, given emerging evidence that suggests that those with low digital health literacy seek health information from unreliable sources. Identifying cost-effective strategies to rapidly assess and enhance digital health literacy capacities across community settings thus warrants continued investigation.
数字健康素养已成为在数字时代所需的一项关键技能。
本综述旨在广泛总结关于数字健康素养与以下方面关联的文献：（1）社会人口学特征；（2）卫生资源利用；（3）普通人群、患者群体或父母或照护者群体的健康结局。
通过检索4个基于网络的数据库，对2016年1月至2022年5月发表的文献进行快速综述。纳入的文章需基于以下关键词：成人群体中的“测量数字健康素养”“数字素养”“电子健康素养”“网络健康素养”；参与者来自以英语为主要语言的国家；研究必须为横断面研究、纵向研究、前瞻性研究或回顾性研究，且以英文发表。
36篇文章符合纳入标准。关于数字健康素养与社会人口学特征之间关联的证据各不相同（36篇中有27篇，75%的纳入研究），高等教育程度（在21篇研究该关联的文章中有16篇，76.2%）和较年轻的年龄（21篇研究中有12篇，57.1%）往往预示着较高的数字健康素养；然而，其他研究未发现关联。大多数研究未发现性别差异。不同种族群体间的证据过于有限，无法得出结论；一些研究表明，来自种族和族裔少数群体的人数字健康素养高于白人个体，而其他研究未发现关联。在大多数研究该关系的文章中（36篇中有20篇，55.6%），较高的数字健康素养与数字健康资源利用相关。此外，在17篇纳入研究中（36篇中有17篇，47.2%），较高的数字健康素养也与三个领域的健康结局相关（心理社会结局；慢性病及健康管理行为；身体结局），这些研究探讨了这些关系。然而，并非所有关于数字健康素养与健康资源利用及健康结局之间关系的研究都符合预期方向。
本综述呈现了关于数字健康素养与社会人口学特征之间关系的混合结果，尽管研究普遍发现数字健康素养的提高与健康结局及行为的改善呈正相关。需要进一步研究数字健康素养对慢性病结局的影响，尤其是在不同群体中。鉴于新出现的证据表明数字健康素养低的人会从不可靠来源获取健康信息，使个体具备批判性获取和评估数字平台及设备上可靠健康信息的技能至关重要。因此，确定在社区环境中快速评估和提高数字健康素养能力的具有成本效益的策略值得持续研究。
