African Pharmaceutics and Drug Delivery (Clinical aspects) | 19 March 2010
E-Health Literacy among Hospital Patients with Chronic Conditions in South African Urban Hospitals: Engagement Levels and Self-Care Management Enhancement
N, o, m, s, i, e, M, o, t, s, v, i, s, i
Abstract
E-Health literacy refers to the ability of individuals to seek, understand, and evaluate health information from electronic sources and apply this knowledge for making decisions regarding their own health. A mixed-methods approach involving a validated e-health literacy questionnaire survey and qualitative interviews to understand patient perspectives on electronic health resources use. Engagement levels were notably higher among patients aged over 50, suggesting that age may be a significant factor in e-health literacy uptake. A confidence interval of the mean e-health literacy score was found to range between 72 and 81 out of 100. The study identified key barriers and facilitators to e-health literacy, which will inform future interventions aimed at improving self-care management in urban public hospitals. Develop targeted educational programmes for older adults focusing on digital health tools, with further research into personalized approaches based on patient demographics. Chronic Conditions, E-Health Literacy, Self-Care Management, Urban Hospitals, South Africa Treatment effect was estimated with $\text{logit}(p<em>i)=\beta</em>0+\beta^\top X_i$, and uncertainty reported using confidence-interval based inference.