Abstract
Mobile health (mHealth) technologies may reduce or widen health inequalities. Despite the extensive literature in support of both of these contrasting views, little attention has been paid to the role of mHealth technologies with regard to social strata and health in the context of South Korea, a country with one of the highest usages of smartphones worldwide. This study examined the effects of social determinants on health self-efficacy and health status and explored how mHealth technologies moderate the impacts of social determinants on health outcomes. Data were collected via online surveys from 29 July to 3 August 2021. Survey data from 1187 Korean adults showed that men had higher levels of health self-efficacy than women. The higher an individual’s education level, the greater their subjective health status. Individuals with higher levels of monthly household income, social capital, and healthcare quality reported higher levels of health self-efficacy and superior health status. The use of mHealth technologies moderated the associations between social determinants and health outcomes. Specifically, monthly household income and social capital had smaller effects on health self-efficacy and health status among those who used higher levels of mHealth technologies. Among higher users of mHealth technologies, females reported better health status than males, while men showed better health status than women in the low-user group. These findings highlight the effectiveness of mHealth technologies in addressing health disparities.
Highlights
Health inequalities are recognized as a major public health issue through the world.The World Health Organization (WHO) Commission on Social Determinants of Health (CSDH) calls on governments to pay closer attention to public health policy, practices, and research regarding the social determinants of health (SDH) to reduce health inequalities and improve the health of the most vulnerable and disadvantaged groups [1]
Social capital, and healthcare quality were positively associated with health outcomes
The moderating influence of Mobile health (mHealth) technologies showed very small effect sizes, the findings of this study indicate that mHealth technologies can potentially act as a buffer against the effects of the SDH, such as gender, household income, and social capital, which play a positive role in widening health disparities
Summary
Health inequalities are recognized as a major public health issue through the world.The World Health Organization (WHO) Commission on Social Determinants of Health (CSDH) calls on governments to pay closer attention to public health policy, practices, and research regarding the social determinants of health (SDH) to reduce health inequalities and improve the health of the most vulnerable and disadvantaged groups [1]. SDH describes the conditions in which people are born, grow, live, work, and age, which are shaped by the distribution of money, power, and resources [1]. They include the factors of socioeconomic status, education, neighbourhood and physical environment, employment, social support networks, and quality of healthcare [2]. Social capital is an important determinant of population health It is a widely used and multifaceted concept applied in a range of fields, social capital generally means the process through which social support is exchanged in the domain of public health [11]. Social support is defined as the networks of family, friends, neighbours, and community members that are available in times of need to provide psychological, physical, and financial
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