eHealth Literacy and Health-Related Internet Use Among Swedish Primary Health Care Visitors: Cross-Sectional...

Area of Science:

• Digital Health
• Health Informatics
• Public Health

Background:

• Digitalization transforms healthcare, improving access and cost-effectiveness.
• eHealth services can inadvertently exclude individuals with low eHealth literacy.
• Older adults, less educated, and infrequent internet users often exhibit lower eHealth literacy.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate eHealth literacy among primary health care visitors in Sweden.
• To examine the association between eHealth literacy and health-related internet use.
• To identify sociodemographic factors associated with eHealth literacy.

Main Methods:

• Cross-sectional quantitative, descriptive study.
• 172 Swedish-speaking primary health care patients completed the eHealth Literacy Questionnaire (eHLQ).
• Data analyzed using Mann-Whitney U, Kruskal-Wallis tests, and logistic regression.

Main Results:

• Participants scored highest in health understanding and confidentiality, lowest in motivation and perceived ability to use health information.
• Lower eHealth literacy correlated with older age, less digital technology use, and difficulty accessing eHealth services.
• Perceived lack of usefulness of health information was linked to lower eHealth literacy across most domains.

Conclusions:

• Tailoring eHealth services to user needs and enhancing motivation are essential.
• Improving overall health literacy is crucial to address the digital divide.
• Healthcare professionals and eHealth developers must collaborate to expand eHealth access.