TY - JOUR
T1 - Assessing Electronic Health Literacy at an Urban Academic Hospital
AU - Lane, Sarah
AU - Fitzsimmons, Emma
AU - Zelefksy, Abraham
AU - Klein, Jonathan
AU - Kaur, Savneet
AU - Viswanathan, Shankar
AU - Garg, Madhur
AU - Feldman, Jonathan M.
AU - Jariwala, Sunit P.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2022 Georg Thieme Verlag. All rights reserved.
PY - 2022/12/2
Y1 - 2022/12/2
N2 - Background Residents of the Bronx suffer marked health disparities due to socioeconomic and other factors. The coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic worsened these health outcome disparities and health care access disparities, especially with the abrupt transition to online care. Objectives This study classified electronic health literacy (EHL) among patients at an urban, academic hospital in the Bronx, and assessed for associations between EHL levels and various demographic characteristics. Methods We designed a cross-sectional, observational study in adults 18 years or older presenting to the Montefiore Einstein Center for Cancer Care (MECCC) Department of Radiation Oncology or the Montefiore Department of Medicine in the Bronx. We assessed EHL using the eHealth Literacy Scale (eHEALS) survey, a previously validated tool, and our newly developed eHealth Literacy Objective Scale-Scenario Based (eHeLiOS-SB) tool. Results A total of 97 patients recruited from the MECCC and Department of Medicine participated in this study. There was a statistically significant association between age and EHL as assessed by both eHEALS and eHeLiOS-SB, with older adults having lower EHL scores. Additionally, a question designed to assess general attitudes toward digital health technologies found that most participants had a positive attitude toward such applications. Conclusion Many patients, especially older adults, may require additional support to effectively navigate telehealth. Further research is warranted to optimize telemedicine strategies in this potentially-marginalized population and ultimately to create telehealth practices accessible to patients of all ages and demographics.
AB - Background Residents of the Bronx suffer marked health disparities due to socioeconomic and other factors. The coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic worsened these health outcome disparities and health care access disparities, especially with the abrupt transition to online care. Objectives This study classified electronic health literacy (EHL) among patients at an urban, academic hospital in the Bronx, and assessed for associations between EHL levels and various demographic characteristics. Methods We designed a cross-sectional, observational study in adults 18 years or older presenting to the Montefiore Einstein Center for Cancer Care (MECCC) Department of Radiation Oncology or the Montefiore Department of Medicine in the Bronx. We assessed EHL using the eHealth Literacy Scale (eHEALS) survey, a previously validated tool, and our newly developed eHealth Literacy Objective Scale-Scenario Based (eHeLiOS-SB) tool. Results A total of 97 patients recruited from the MECCC and Department of Medicine participated in this study. There was a statistically significant association between age and EHL as assessed by both eHEALS and eHeLiOS-SB, with older adults having lower EHL scores. Additionally, a question designed to assess general attitudes toward digital health technologies found that most participants had a positive attitude toward such applications. Conclusion Many patients, especially older adults, may require additional support to effectively navigate telehealth. Further research is warranted to optimize telemedicine strategies in this potentially-marginalized population and ultimately to create telehealth practices accessible to patients of all ages and demographics.
KW - digital health literacy
KW - eHEALS
KW - eHeLiOS-SB
KW - electronic health literacy
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85159766754&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85159766754&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1055/a-2041-4500
DO - 10.1055/a-2041-4500
M3 - Article
C2 - 36822226
AN - SCOPUS:85159766754
SN - 1869-0327
VL - 14
SP - 365
EP - 373
JO - Applied Clinical Informatics
JF - Applied Clinical Informatics
IS - 2
ER -