Digital Health Technology Use by Vietnamese Americans: Cross-Sectional Study

Digital health technologies (DHTs), including mobile health (mHealth) apps and online medical records, are increasingly being used to support self-management and communication with health care professionals among the general population across the United States. However, few studies have explored whether cultural, privacy, and sociodemographic factors may influence DHT adoption among Vietnamese Americans specifically.

This cross-sectional study aimed to explore DHT use, barriers to adoption, and their associations with social determinants, such as age, sex, social support, and mental health concerns, among Vietnamese Americans.

Data were collected from a sample of Vietnamese American adults (n=304) through surveys assessing DHT engagement, confidence in medical record security, and social and psychological factors. Descriptive statistics and inferential analyses, including 2-tailed t tests and chi-square tests, were used to examine differences across demographic groups.

Many participants had engaged with mHealth tools (253/304, 83.2%), including using mobile devices for health tracking (185/302, 60.9%), and health care professional discussions (194/301, 64.5%). Online medical records were reported to be widely available (230/304, 75.7%), with a large proportion of the participants (182/227, 80.2%) accessing them at least once in the past year. Privacy concerns were a key barrier to using online medical records, with 40.5% (17/42) of nonusers citing security fears, and 26.6% (81/304) reporting withholding health information from health care professionals. The main reasons participants did not access online medical records (45/304, 14.8%) were that they preferred to speak to health care professionals directly (31/44, 70.5%) or did not perceive a need to access their online medical records (30/43, 69.8%). There were no statistically significant differences in sociodemographic characteristics between DHT users and nonusers. There were statistically significant differences in the levels of social support of participants who had varying levels of confidence in the security of their medical records (F2,301=10.19; P<.001; η²=0.063). A greater proportion of male participants reported distrust (ie, being "not confident" in the security of their medical records) than female participants (χ22=20.8; P<.001), indicating a significant association between sex and confidence level.

While DHT adoption is high among Vietnamese Americans, privacy concerns remain a major barrier to full use of online medical records. Health care professionals and public health initiatives should focus on improving trust in medical record security, incorporating culturally tailored education on the benefits of digital health, and leveraging social media and mHealth tools to optimize patient engagement. Developing stronger family and community support may facilitate the adoption of DHTs.