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Adolescents' Perspectives on Using Technology for Health: Qualitative Study
Ana Radovic1, Carolyn A McCarty2,3, Katherine Katzman2
1Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC, Division of Adolescent and Young Adult Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, United States.
JMIR Pediatrics and Parenting
|February 12, 2019
Summary
Adolescents use technology for health information, social support, and behavior tracking. They prefer direct communication with providers outside visits, not social media, for health needs.
Area of Science:
- Adolescent Health
- Digital Health
- Health Communication
Background:
- Adolescents extensively use technology, presenting opportunities for integration into healthcare.
- Technology can influence adolescent behavior change and support healthy choices.
- Limited guidance exists on integrating technology into adolescent healthcare, especially regarding youth preferences.
Purpose of the Study:
- To understand adolescents' technology use for overall health support.
- To explore adolescents' perspectives on using technology to enhance health and clinical care.
- To investigate how adolescents envision using technology for provider communication.
Main Methods:
- Qualitative study involving semi-structured, in-depth individual interviews with adolescents (13-18 years).
- Participants recruited from a hospital adolescent medicine clinic and community outreach.
- Interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed, and analyzed using thematic analysis.
Main Results:
- Thirty-one adolescents reported using technology for information gathering, sharing experiences, social support, and behavior tracking.
- Key desires for technology use with providers include out-of-visit question answering, enhanced access for rapport building, and sharing between-visit data.
- Social media was not preferred for provider communication due to privacy and intrusiveness concerns.
Conclusions:
- Adolescents have specific preferences for health technology use, particularly for communicating with healthcare providers.
- Healthcare providers should guide adolescents on technology use for health, balancing benefits and risks.
- Technology developers should consider adolescent preferences, especially for provider communication features.