Hwang Minhwa, Kim Gahye, Lee Seonghyeon, Park Yeon-Hwan
The Research Institute of Nursing Science, Seoul National University, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
College of Nursing, Eulji University, Uijeongbu, Republic of Korea.
Psychiatry Investig. 2025 Jan;22(1):75-83. doi: 10.30773/pi.2024.0210. Epub 2025 Jan 15.
While using digital technologies for social health is widely acknowledged, the relationship between loneliness, social isolation, and digital health literacy remains unknown. This study aimed to assess the levels of loneliness, social isolation, and digital health literacy in older women living alone and to explore the associations between these factors.
In August 2021, a cross-sectional survey was conducted on 145 older women living alone, selected using convenience sampling. The study used the University of California, Los Angeles Loneliness Scale (version 3), Lubben Social Network Scale-6, and Digital Health Technology Literacy-Assessment Questionnaire. The collected data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, the Mann-Whitney U test, the Kruskal-Wallis test, Spearman's rho correlation, and a generalized linear model (GLM).
Of the participants, 22.8% (n=33) reported moderate loneliness, 20.7% (n=30) reported severe loneliness, and 36.6% (n=53) were at risk for social isolation. The mean digital health literacy score among participants was 4.85 (SD=6.92), which is relatively low. Importantly, our findings using a GLM to control for covariates revealed a significant association between loneliness (B=-0.013, p=0.018) and digital health literacy.
The increased loneliness experienced during the pandemic may contribute to low digital health literacy, alienating these individuals from the benefits of digital technologies. Therefore, in developing digital health programs or policies, it is imperative to consider the psychosocial status of individuals, including loneliness, while enhancing digital health literacy.
虽然利用数字技术促进社会健康已得到广泛认可，但孤独感、社会隔离与数字健康素养之间的关系仍不明确。本研究旨在评估独居老年女性的孤独感、社会隔离和数字健康素养水平，并探讨这些因素之间的关联。
2021年8月，采用便利抽样法对145名独居老年女性进行了横断面调查。该研究使用了加利福尼亚大学洛杉矶分校孤独感量表（第3版）、鲁本社会网络量表-6以及数字健康技术素养评估问卷。对收集到的数据进行描述性统计分析、曼-惠特尼U检验、克鲁斯卡尔-沃利斯检验、斯皮尔曼等级相关分析以及广义线性模型（GLM）分析。
在参与者中，22.8%（n=33）报告有中度孤独感，20.7%（n=30）报告有重度孤独感，36.6%（n=53）存在社会隔离风险。参与者的数字健康素养平均得分为4.85（标准差=6.92），相对较低。重要的是，我们使用GLM控制协变量的研究结果显示，孤独感（B=-0.013，p=0.018）与数字健康素养之间存在显著关联。
疫情期间孤独感增加可能导致数字健康素养较低，使这些人无法从数字技术中受益。因此，在制定数字健康计划或政策时，在提高数字健康素养的同时，必须考虑个体的心理社会状况，包括孤独感。
