Health Information Literacy Influences Access to Network Knowledge for Patients with Permanent Cystostomy

Abstract

Objective: The patients with permanent cystostomy have demand of relevant health information from network. The level of health information literacy refers the ability of acquiring and using health information. The aim of this study was to investigate the level of health information literacy in patients with permanent cystostomy, and to explore its influence on network knowledge acquisition ability. Methods: A cross-sectional survey of 200 patients with permanent cystostomy was conducted, using the general information questionnaire, the health information literacy self-rating questionnaire, and the network knowledge acquisition questionnaire. Results: Patients with permanent cystostomy who had health information literacy accounted for 33.5%, of which the having rate of health information application was the lowest (6.7%). The having rate of health information literacy for patients living in cities, educational level in high school, and duration of disease more than 5 years was higher than other patients (both P < 0.05). The professional medical websites was the main search source for patients with health information literacy, and the health contents mainly included treatment plan, postoperative complications and drug use, of which 62.7% of the patients took the attitude of questioning the network information again. Patients without health information literacy mainly searched for profit-making commercial websites, and the main health contents included dietary guidance, exercise training, and medical hospitals, 30.1% of which took a doubt attitude toward online information. The difference in trust attitude toward network knowledge between the two groups was statistically significant (P < 0.01). Conclusion: The level of health information literacy of patients with permanent cystostomy is low. The individualized training and guidance should be carried out so as to improve the ability of acquiring knowledge on the internet and improve the execution of medical decision.