Digital literacy as a new determinant of health: A scoping review.

Autor: Arias López MDP; Intermediate Care Unit. Hospital de Niños Ricardo Gutierrez Buenos Aires, Argentina.; Argentine Society of Intensive Care. Management, Quality and Data Committee Buenos Aires, Argentina., Ong BA; Department of Neurology, Neurological Institute, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, Ohio, United States of America., Borrat Frigola X; Department of Anesthesiology and Intensive Care. Hospital Clínic de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain.; Laboratory for Computational Physiology, Institute for Medical Engineering and Science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Boston, Massachusetts United States of America., Fernández AL; Argentine Society of Intensive Care. Management, Quality and Data Committee Buenos Aires, Argentina., Hicklent RS; Research Medical Library, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas United States of America., Obeles AJT; College of Medicine, University of the Philippines Manila Manila, Philippines., Rocimo AM; College of Medicine, University of the Philippines Manila Manila, Philippines., Celi LA; Laboratory for Computational Physiology, Institute for Medical Engineering and Science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Boston, Massachusetts United States of America.; Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care and Pain Medicine, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America.
Jazyk: angličtina
Zdroj: PLOS digital health [PLOS Digit Health] 2023 Oct 12; Vol. 2 (10), pp. e0000279. Date of Electronic Publication: 2023 Oct 12 (Print Publication: 2023).
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pdig.0000279
Abstrakt: Introduction: Harnessing new digital technologies can improve access to health care but can also widen the health divide for those with poor digital literacy. This scoping review aims to assess the current situation of low digital health literacy in terms of its definition, reach, impact on health and interventions for its mitigation.
Methods: A comprehensive literature search strategy was composed by a qualified medical librarian. Literature databases [Medline (Ovid), Embase (Ovid), Scopus, and Google Scholar] were queried using appropriate natural language and controlled vocabulary terms along with hand-searching and citation chaining. We focused on recent and highly cited references published in English. Reviews were excluded. This scoping review was conducted following the methodological framework of Arksey and O'Malley.
Results: A total of 268 articles were identified (263 from the initial search and 5 more added from the references of the original papers), 53 of which were finally selected for full text analysis. Digital health literacy is the most frequently used descriptor to refer to the ability to find and use health information with the goal of addressing or solving a health problem using technology. The most utilized tool to assess digital health literacy is the eHealth literacy scale (eHEALS), a self-reported measurement tool that evaluates six core dimensions and is available in various languages. Individuals with higher digital health literacy scores have better self-management and participation in their own medical decisions, mental and psychological state and quality of life. Effective interventions addressing poor digital health literacy included education/training and social support.
Conclusions: Although there is interest in the study and impact of poor digital health literacy, there is still a long way to go to improve measurement tools and find effective interventions to reduce the digital health divide.
Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.
(Copyright: © 2023 Arias López et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)
Databáze: MEDLINE