Acceptance and perceived usefulness of digital health services in the management of chronic urticaria: a survey of patients and physicians

BackgroundPrevious research suggests that the COVID-19 pandemic caused significant disruption to the lives and mental health of Australians. In response, health services adapted rapidly to digital modes of treatment, prevention and care. Although a large amount of research emerged in the first year of the pandemic, the longer-term mental health impacts, contributing factors, and population-level utilization of digital health services are unknown.MethodsA population-based online survey of 5,100 Australians adults was conducted in October 2021. Psychological distress was assessed with the Kessler 6-item Psychological Distress Scale. Additional survey questions included use and satisfaction with digital health services. Where available, data were compared with our previous survey conducted in 2018, permitting an examination of pre- and post-pandemic digital health service utilization.ResultsIn 2021, almost a quarter (n = 1203, 23.6%) of respondents reported serious levels of psychological distress; participants with pre-existing health related conditions, of younger age, lower educational attainment, those who lost their job or were paid fewer hours, or living in states with lockdown policies in place were at highest risk of serious psychological distress. Almost half of all respondents (n = 2177, 42.7%) reported using digital health technologies in 2021, in contrast to just 10.0% in 2018. In 2021, respondents with serious psychological distress were significantly more likely to consult with a healthcare professional via telephone/videoconferencing (P < 0.001), access healthcare via a telephone advice line (P < 0.001), or via an email or webchat advice service (P < 0.001) than those with no serious psychological distress. Those with and without psychological distress were highly satisfied with the care they received via digital health technologies in 2021.ConclusionRates of serious psychological distress during the second year of the pandemic remained high, providing further evidence for the serious impact of COVID-19 on the mental health of the general population. Those with psychological distress accessed digital mental health services and were satisfied with the care they received. The results highlight the continued need for mental health support and digital health services, particularly for people living with chronic conditions, younger adults and people most impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, both in the short term and beyond.

Designing digital health applications for climate change mitigation and adaptation.

Sharing information safely and securely: the foundation of a modern health care system.

Sophisticated methodological approaches and measures for scaling up are key elements of effective evaluation Digital health technologies and services are significant contributors to the transformation of health care delivery. It has been estimated that 80% of technology projects fail1 due to uncertainty, abandonment and lack of organisational willingness to adopt.2 In response to the high failure rate, the discipline of benefits management has emerged, with the aim of measuring and optimising the value of digital health initiatives. The development and application of benefits management has received some attention,3 but owing to the infancy of the discipline there has been limited assessment of methodological frameworks and their application. In this article, we describe the framework that is being used to measure and quantify the benefits of the My Health Record system in Australia. We consider the strengths and limitations of this framework in the context of existing frameworks, and its ability to demonstrate digital health system benefits. We also identify priority areas for further development of digital health benefit evaluation frameworks. Further, we provide an overview of the approach to digital health system benefits evaluation in Australia, in the context of the My Health Record system. A role of the Australian Digital Health Agency has been to lead the development of the National Digital Health Strategy, to lay the foundations for a safe, seamless and secure health system.4 This strategy comprises seven priority areas to be achieved by 2022. A key strategic priority is to provide health information whenever and wherever it is needed, and this is underpinned by the My Health Record system. My Health Record is a secure online summary of health information which can be accessed by people and their health care providers, and is patient-controlled. It is a personal health record, enabling people to access, manage and share their health information with their clinicians using a range of privacy controls. This functionality includes the ability to decline access to specific documents, set a control to restrict access to the entire record, see an audit trail of any organisations that have accessed the record, and block organisations from viewing the record. The record can contain summary information from general practice, hospital, pharmacy and other health care settings. It may also contain results of investigations, plus documents that patients create themselves (such as advance care plans and personal notes). In addition, it can provide access to Medicare documents such as Medicare Benefits Schedule and Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme information, the Australian Immunisation Register and the Australian Organ Donor Register. A multimethod evaluation framework has been developed to comprehensively evaluate the benefits of the My Health Record system. It draws on approaches that have been used overseas and assesses the range of clinical contexts in which the system is used. Connecting people to their own health information has been shown to produce a range of benefits relating to patient engagement and a 60–80% improvement in their adherence to treatment regimens.5 In addition, enabling self-management has been associated with significant financial savings in terms of health care costs and avoided hospital admissions.6 It is also theorised that enabling clinicians across different health care settings to share information will result in improved patient safety (eg, fewer medication errors), improved care coordination, a reduction in unnecessarily duplicated investigations, and efficiency gains for clinicians in terms of time savings. In Australia, 2–3% of hospital admissions each year relate to medication misadventure, costing an estimated $1.2 billion annually.7 Improved access to medication information from a range of settings through the medicines information view in My Health Record should provide clinicians with more comprehensive information, and it is hoped that this will result in a reduction of medication misadventure events. Moreover, the use of digital health records to enable test results to be shared has been shown to reduce duplicated pathology tests by 18% per week,8 and in primary care settings it has been found that 13.6% of visits were missing important clinical information.9 Several lessons relating to the application of digital health research and evaluation frameworks have been learned. Many different "key measures" have been described, and there is an overall lack of consensus as to the "who, why, how, when and what" that should apply to an evaluation.10 The impact of this has been a failure to capture the complete range of players involved in the successful delivery of a system — players who do not necessarily share identical perspectives. A recent systematic review recommends that future frameworks present better methods for stakeholder identification and have a greater focus on understanding the context in which the system is delivered. From a systems perspective, this includes usability and organisational impact.10 The foundations of Australia's digital health system benefits evaluation framework are based on applying a range of measurement methods to capture a broad variety of outcome measures, reflecting a multistakeholder National Digital Health Strategy which offers different types of benefits to its different stakeholders. Five benefit workstreams have been introduced to evaluate the My Health Record system using qualitative, quantitative and mixed-method designs, as well as behavioural economic and health economic evaluation methods (Box). These workstreams are: Perceived improvement in access to patients' information and reduction in the need to order pathology tests and diagnostic imaging Self-reported experience of being able to view information that was previously unknown, and saving time requesting information Reduction in adverse medicine-related events through having access to a patient's medicines information Reduction in unnecessary duplication of pathology tests and diagnostic imaging The workstreams have been designed with data sources in mind to assist with planning and prioritising evaluation measures. These have been ranked by feasibility11 and impact, taking into account the relative importance of each measure to different stakeholders.10 To support two of these workstreams — customer and market insights, and impact evaluations — we have taken a similar approach to Canada's Clinical Adoption Framework.3 The impact evaluations workstream in particular focuses on outcomes and how these are being realised. For example, it focuses on measuring usability and adoption of digital tools from clinicians and consumers from their inception and throughout their development. The behavioural economics workstream refers to the evaluation methods which aim to measure change in the behaviour of system users (eg, clinicians and patients), organisational issues which can affect adoption, and indicators that would inform change management requirements to improve usability and adoption of digital health services.12 The data analytics workstream enables monitoring of trends in adoption and usage. For example, this workstream is investigating, through data modelling, whether My Health Record use is associated with fewer medication errors and reduced unnecessary duplication of pathology tests, to provide comprehensive results from a range of settings. The health economics evaluations workstream evaluates and forecasts indirect population health outcomes and downstream economic benefits using health economics modelling. For example, it is developing a health economics model to inform the ongoing business case for the My Health Record system, and conducting modelling that will support measurement of current and future benefits. To support an iterative process in product and service design, the Australian Digital Health Agency also undertakes user experience research and agile project management methods.13 The advantage of this approach is that it can deliver user insights which inform continual design and development of new features. Further, conducting field research to observe a range of digital system users in their environment is a way of identifying attributes that can influence the methods and measures used more broadly in our benefits evaluation framework. Current approaches and frameworks that have been developed overseas to support evaluation and benefits measurement of digital health services are at various stages of maturity. An increasing range of methods to evaluate digital health technologies is being supported by publications, which recognise that they are being deployed in complex health systems that require a contextual understanding of users, clinical settings and the policy environment in which they operate. We must not underestimate the challenges of evaluating benefits of digital health system delivery, and new methods to support evaluations continue to be developed and validated.2 Benefits evaluation frameworks offer a platform that can guide researchers and policy makers in generating and translating evidence to support future directions and ongoing investment in digital health services. Recent debates highlight the importance of fostering evaluation designs which combine different research methods, using qualitative, quantitative and co-design principles, as well as process measures1 that we have embedded into our benefits framework. To strengthen our current benefits evaluation framework and overall approach to digital health service evaluation, we are actively introducing methods that ascertain how services can be scaled up, to identify enablers and barriers to implementation across a range of settings.1 In this context, we define scalability as "the ability … to be expanded under real-world conditions to reach a greater proportion of the eligible population, while retaining effectiveness".14 Measuring scalability is not a commonly undertaken process and has been described as poorly understood.15 But the Australian Digital Health Agency is working towards applying these methods to build an understanding of impact. These findings form a picture of how, where and for whom the intervention could have the greatest impact and, conversely, what adaptations are needed for interventions to work across different population groups. A practical example of how this is being undertaken through the Agency is the introduction of and investment in a range of "test bed" studies. Test beds are projects assessing new digital-enabled models of care that are instigated and delivered cooperatively through sustainable and viable partnerships between industry, government and other organisations. Their purpose is to promote innovation to address Australia's highest priority health challenges and generate evidence on how the new approaches improve health outcomes. Currently, there are 15 test beds across Australia which are testing digital infrastructure and integration of digital health into clinical workflows.16 Despite ongoing interest in digital health benefits evaluation frameworks, few examples of their use in evaluation of digital health services have been published. The Australian Digital Health Agency's benefits evaluation framework will be used to justify future funding of digital health and to inform community and clinical education material. Moreover, the findings will be used to inform enhancements of the My Health Record system, ensuring that its progress is relevant and appropriate for clinicians and consumers. We are grateful to Darian Eckersley, from the Australian Digital Health Agency, for advice on product design methods. Many thanks to the broader Research Programs team at the Agency for reviewing parts of this manuscript and commenting on an earlier version. We are all employed by the Australian Digital Health Agency. Commissioned; externally peer reviewed.

This study examines how digital health technologies influence individuals’ perceptions of data management and their attitudes toward the use of these technologies in healthcare. It particularly focuses on the societal determinants shaping engagement with digital health in Turkey. A total of 503 participants aged 18–64 from different regions of Turkey were included. Data were collected using the Data Management in Digital Health Environments Scale developed by Demirci and Yardan (2023), which comprises five subdimensions—benefit and satisfaction, security, sharing, privacy, and usability. A quantitative research design was adopted. Statistical analyses, including multiple regression and one-way ANOVA, were performed. Education, income, and employment status were treated as independent variables, while attitudes toward digital health technologies and perceptions of data management served as dependent variables. Multiple regression analysis indicated that the perceived potential of digital health technologies to improve healthcare quality was not a significant predictor of individuals’ attitudes toward these technologies (p > 0.05). ANOVA results showed that higher-income participants were significantly more likely to use digital health technologies (p < 0.01). Employment status also had a significant effect on data management perceptions (p < 0.05): employed individuals reported more frequent technology use, whereas students demonstrated stronger data management awareness. Younger participants expressed more positive attitudes than older adults (p < 0.01). The duration of internet use also emerged as a key factor influencing adaptation to digital health tools. The findings suggest that sociodemographic factors substantially shape individuals’ engagement with digital health services. These results highlight the importance of developing inclusive policies that enhance digital health literacy and equitable access, ensuring that digital transformation benefits all segments of society.

The Council for Cardiology Practice of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC), in collaboration with the Digital Health Committee (DHC), undertook an electronic survey with 15 question multiple-choice questionnaire sent to 32 461 members of the ESC with the aim to assess the knowledge and usage of digital health (DH) technologies (DHTs) by office-based cardiologists. Of 559 respondents, 57% graded their knowledge about DH as ‘fair’ and three quarters identified the correct definition of DH. Clinical information systems, mHealth Apps, and telemedicine were the most frequently used DHTs, but 41% of respondents had concerns about their ethical and data transparency. Lack of legal clarity, low patient motivation, limited DH literacy, and poor access to DH were perceived as the main barriers to the adoption of DH. Seventy percent of the respondents were aware of the DH pages on the ESC website and 76% of the educational sessions in the DH area during the ESC Congress 2019. Only 16% had not read articles on DH. Eight-eight percent of responders declared that they would ‘probably’ or definitely attend future educational initiatives on DHT.

Background According to different reports, Spain is among the European countries that use digital health technologies the most. However, to develop inclusive and fair digital health services, there is the need to feature digital health knowledge, skills, confidence, and a positive attitude about their significance. This work aims to draw a picture of digital health literacy levels in Spain. Methods A stratified sample of the Spanish population regarding gender, age group and area of residence was used. Participants were recruited from an online panel and by direct approach to balance quotas. Between May 2021- May 2022, participants filled a self-administered online survey, including the Spanish version of the eHealth Literacy Questionnaire (eHLQ) and the eHealth Literacy Scale (eHEALS). Results Digital health literacy showed similar mean scores, between 2.6-2.7 out of 5 with similar SD on each of the 7 dimensions of the eHLQ. The highest scores were related to knowledge about filling data in digital health services and knowledge about health and how the body works, and feelings about the usefulness of digital technology for health. In contrast, lower scores were related to sharing health information by technology, thinking that using technology gives access to better health services, and the possibility to contact usual health professionals with technology. Latent profile analysis identified 5 user profiles. Significant differences were found according to age, inhabitants per municipality, technology use, self-perceived health status, educational level, socioeconomic index and eHEALS scores; not by gender. Conclusions As the scores are similar in the different subscales, competencies, attitudes and confidence in digital health that they measure are balanced. However, the main challenge appears in granting users access to digital services that work, which involves the definition and monitoring of strategies until the final implementation. Key messages • Digital Health literacy in Spain differs according to different aspects, not only age, educational or socioeconomic level. • Confidence in usefulness is a common denominator among the five digital health service user profiles identified.

The capacity to promote and disseminate the best evidence-based practices in terms of digital health innovations and technologies represents an important goal for countries and governments. To support the digital health maturity across countries the Global Digital Health Partnership (GDHP) was established in 2019. The mission of the GDHP is to facilitate global collaboration and knowledge-sharing in the design of digital health services, through the administration of surveys and white papers. The scope of this study is to critically analyze and discuss results from the Evidence and Evaluation GDHP Work Stream's survey, understand how governments and countries intend to address main obstacles to the digital health implementation, identify their strategies for a communication of effective digital health services, and promote the sharing of international based best practices on digital health. This survey followed a cross-sectional study approach. A multiple-choice questionnaire was designed to gather data. Choices were extracted from research publications retrieved through a rapid review. Out of 29 countries receiving the survey, 10 returned it. On a scale from 1 to 5, eHealth systems/platforms (mean = 3.56) were indicated as the most important tool for centralized infrastructure to collect information on digital health, while primary care (mean = 4.0) represented the most voted item for healthcare services to collect information on digital health. Seven Countries out of 10 identified lack of organization, skepticism of clinicians, and accessibility of the population as a barriers to adopt digital health implementation, resulting to be the most voted items. Finally, the most endorsed priorities in digital health for Countries were the adoption of data-driven approaches (6 Countries), and telehealth (5 Countries). This survey highlighted the main tools and obstacles for countries to promote the implementation of evidence-based digital health innovations. Identifying strategies that would communicate the value of health care information technology to healthcare professionals are particularly imperative. Effective communication programs for clinicians and the general population in addition to improved digital health literacy (both for clinicians and citizens) will be the key for the real implementation of future digital health technologies.

Background:Digital Health Technologies (DHTs) are increasingly expanding conventional rheumatology care, offering new modalities for patient engagement and treatment management. Understanding the factors influencing their adoption and usage among patients in...

BackgroundAutism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a lifelong neurodevelopmental condition, the prevalence of which is increasing in China and worldwide. Digital health technologies offer promising solutions for improving screening, diagnosis, and rehabilitation of children with ASD, particularly in resource-limited settings. However, digital health technologies for ASD have not been adopted in China. Understanding utilization patterns, influencing factors, and user needs is essential to inform equitable, effective digital health strategies.ObjectiveThis study aimed to assess the current use, influencing factors, and perceived needs of digital health services among parents of children with ASD and rehabilitation therapists in 2 distinct provinces in China.MethodsA cross-sectional survey was carried out between November 2023 and February 2024 in Heilongjiang and Fujian provinces. Purposive sampling recruited a total of 780 parents and 745 rehabilitation therapists to complete a structured questionnaire. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, stepwise multivariable logistic regression, and multiple response analysis.ResultsThe use of digital health services was low among parents (46/780, 5.9%) and rehabilitation therapists (161/745, 21.6%), although the demand was substantially higher (621/780, 79.6% and 671/745, 90.0%, respectively). Among parents, higher use was positively associated with younger age (20-29 years), employment, lower income (≤CNY 3000/month [US $421.247/month]), and delayed ASD diagnosis (7-12 years old). Among rehabilitation therapists, male, special education background, and autism-specific training experience predicted higher use (all P<.05). Demand was significantly greater in Fujian than in Heilongjiang and was positively associated with higher education levels in parents and rehabilitation therapists (P<.05). Parents and rehabilitation therapists valued a greater understanding of ASD behaviors and development and easier access to resources as primary benefits. Common barriers to the use of digital health services included high cost, need for additional equipment, and usability challenges. The smartphone-WeChat mini-program was the preferred device and platform, respectively. Parents prioritized access to rehabilitation courses, remote guidance, and policy information, while rehabilitation therapists favored personalized plans and professional skills training.ConclusionsDespite a strong demand, digital health services are underused in ASD care across China, with adoption of digital health services influenced by regional disparities and sociodemographic factors. This study, as the first comparative analysis of parents and rehabilitation therapists in 2 Chinese provinces, provides stakeholder-specific insights to guide targeted, locally relevant interventions. Bridging the digital divide through inclusive policies, training, and cross-sector collaboration will be essential for equitable integration into ASD care pathways.

With the aging of the population in our country, healthy aging becomes an important strategic objective to improve the quality of life. Digital health services, as an emerging model, use the Internet, big data, artificial intelligence, and other technical means to provide innovative solutions for the health management of the elderly. However, older people have special characteristics in terms of digital skills and health service needs, which lead to many challenges for digital health services in promoting healthy aging. In recent years, the state has issued a series of policies to promote the development of healthy aging, such as the "14th Five-Year Plan for Healthy Aging" and "Opinions on Promoting the construction of Basic Elderly Care Service System", which have provided policy support for the development of digital health servicesexposed problems such as weak infrastructure, supply-demand imbalance, and digital divide. This study adopts literature, logical analysis, expert interviews, and other research methods to the logical path of digital health services to promote healthy aging, analyze the barriers it faces, and propose a corresponding breakthrough path. The study found that the logical path of digital health services to promote healthy aging includes implementing policy requirements, meeting the increasing demand for elderly health services, empowering the elderly health service system, and innovating management models. However, its development faces challenges such as weak infrastructure, insufficient matching of supply and demand, deepening digital divide, coordination of multiple entities, and lack of institutional norms. Digital health services have great potential to promote healthy aging, but they also face many challenges. Measures such as strengthening infrastructure construction, optimizing supply and demand matching, narrowing the digital divide, establishing collaborative mechanisms, and improving institutional norms can effectively improve the quality and accessibility of digital health services for the elderly and promote the development of healthy aging. From the perspective of theory and practice innovation, this study provides theoretical reference and practical reference for China's digital health services to promote healthy aging.

BackgroundResearch associated with digital health technologies similar to the technologies themselves has proliferated in the last 2 decades. There are calls for these technologies to provide cost-effective health care for underserved populations. However, the research community has also underserved many of these populations. Older Indigenous women are one such segment of the population.ObjectiveOur objective is to systematically review the literature to consolidate and document what we know about how older Indigenous women living in high-income countries use digital health technology to enhance their health.MethodsWe analyzed the peer-reviewed literature by systematically searching 8 databases in March 2022. We included studies published between January 2006 and March 2022 with original data specific to older Indigenous women from high-income countries that reported on the effectiveness, acceptability, and usability of some user-focused digital health technology. We incorporated 2 measures of quality for each study. We also conducted a thematic analysis and a lived experience analysis, which examined each paper from the perspectives of older Indigenous women. We followed the PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) guidelines in this study.ResultsThree papers met the inclusion criteria. The key findings were that older Indigenous women do not see themselves reflected in mainstream health messaging or other digital health offerings. They prefer an approach that considers their uniqueness and diversity. We also identified 2 significant gaps in the literature. First, research reporting on older Indigenous women from high-income countries’ experiences with digital health technology is minimal. Second, the limited research related to older Indigenous women has not consistently engaged Indigenous people in the research process or governance.ConclusionsOlder Indigenous women want digital health technologies to respond to their needs and preferences. Research is needed to understand their requirements and preferences to ensure equity as we move toward greater adoption of digital health technology. Engaging older Indigenous women throughout the research is essential to ensuring that digital health products and services are safe, usable, effective, and acceptable for older Indigenous women.

Digital health technologies can potentially increase the efficiency and quality of pediatric palliative care (PPC), yet their use in home-based PPC remains limited. Limited digital health care literacy and inadequate training can reduce confidence and foster negative attitudes, whereas positive experiences and basic digital health care literacy may encourage adoption. This study aims to explore the use of digital health technologies by Norwegian health care personnel in home-based PPC and examine the association between their digital health care literacy and their attitudes toward digital health. A cross-sectional study was conducted from September 2023 to May 2024, with an online survey targeting health care personnel involved in home-based PPC through primary or specialist health care services. Data were collected using selected items from the Norwegian Healthcare Personnel Survey on eHealth 2022, the Digital Health Care Literacy Scale (DHLS), and the Information Technology Attitude Scales for Health (ITASH), alongside demographic characteristics. Higher DHLS scores indicate greater digital health care literacy, while higher ITASH scores reflect more positive attitudes toward digital health technologies. Pearson correlation, ANOVA, and multiple linear regression analyses were conducted to comprehensively explore the relationships and associations among the variables. Health care personnel (n=148) from diverse health care services responded to the survey. Half of the respondents (72/144, 50%) had experience with real-time video consultation, while phone calls were the primary communication method (138/145, 95.2%). Additionally, 55.6% (79/142) of the respondents had limited or minimal access to electronic health records from other health care services. Health care personnel perceived digital health technologies for remote PPC as a supplement (126/135, 93.3%) rather than a replacement for in-person care. Mean digital health care literacy was 18.29 (SD 3.8) on a scale from 0 to 23. On a scale from 1 to 4, the highest recorded scores pertained to attitudes toward digital health technologies in supporting care (mean 3.17, SD 0.39) and the perceived need for training (mean 3.16, SD 0.43). A statistically significant association was found between the respondents' level of digital health care literacy and their attitudes toward digital health technologies in supporting care (β=0.030, 95% CI 0.014-0.047; P<.001). This study examined the use of digital health technologies by Norwegian health care personnel in home-based PPC, their digital health care literacy, and attitudes toward digital health. Despite positive attitudes and high digital health care literacy, use of digital health technologies was limited, suggesting that inadequate digital health solutions may hinder effective implementation. Addressing these barriers is crucial to enhancing the implementation of digital health in home-based PPC. Future research should focus on integrating digital health technologies into existing infrastructure and workflows while exploring their impact on personalized care to ensure high-quality home-based PPC.

Digital health technologies and health-care privatisation

Digital health technologies enabling the transition from pregnancy to early parenthood: A scoping review.