Influence of Digital Literacy on Digital Health Usage Intention Among Patients With Cancer and Healthcare Providers

Digital health has revolutionized oncology care by offering educational content for informed decisions, facilitating health monitoring, and enhancing access to psychological support. Understanding digital literacy and the requirements of patients with cancer and healthcare providers (HCPs) are essential for developing effective digital health services. We explored the awareness of and demand for digital health and the factors influencing usage intention among patients with cancer and HCPs, focusing on digital literacy.

This cross-sectional study used data from the "Digital Health Awareness and Demand Survey," conducted between October 2023 and February 2024, involving 200 patients with cancer and 204 HCPs. We assessed digital health usage intention, awareness, understanding, and literacy. Digital literacy was measured using a self-assessment tool for Digital Literacy Competence (DLC). Hierarchical linear regression analysis determined the factors affecting digital health usage intentions.

Both patients with cancer and HCPs exhibited strong willingness to use digital health services, scoring 4.03 ± 0.90 and 3.98 ± 0.67, respectively, on a 1-5 Likert scale. High digital literacy was positively associated with the intention to use digital health (DH-Intention to use), especially DLC-Value among patients with cancer (B = 0.09, P = 0.002), and DLC-Value (B = 0.06, P = 0.004) and DLC-Affect (B = 0.03, P = 0.009) among all participants. A better understanding of digital health was correlated with increased DH-Intention to use among HCPs (B = 0.17, P = 0.029) and all participants (B = 0.12, P = 0.041). Patients with cancer reported the highest need for "family and social support" and "transportation and cost assistance service," while HCPs reported the highest need for "information and education" and "communication issues." The patient group reported a significantly greater need for "psychological issues," "family and social support," "hospital facilities and services," and "transportation and cost-assistance services."

Digital literacy and understanding of digital health significantly affected the participants' willingness to use these services. Promoting digital literacy may encourage patients with cancer to adopt digital health, and its usefulness should be highlighted. HCPs can benefit from comprehensive education and training by integrating digital health into their specialties and practices.