Abstract
BackgroundPatients who suffer from different diseases may use different electronic health (eHealth) resources. Thus, those who plan eHealth interventions should take into account which eHealth resources are used most frequently by patients that suffer from different diseases.ObjectiveThe aim of this study was to understand the associations between different groups of chronic diseases and the use of different eHealth resources.MethodsData from the seventh survey of the Tromsø Study (Tromsø 7) were analyzed to determine how different diseases influence the use of different eHealth resources. Specifically, the eHealth resources considered were use of apps, search engines, video services, and social media. The analysis contained data from 21,083 participants in the age group older than 40 years. A total of 15,585 (15,585/21,083; 73.92%) participants reported to have suffered some disease, 10,604 (10,604/21,083; 50.29%) participants reported to have used some kind of eHealth resource in the last year, and 7854 (7854/21,083; 37.25%) participants reported to have used some kind of eHealth resource in the last year and suffered (or had suffered) from some kind of specified disease. Logistic regression was used to determine which diseases significantly predicted the use of each eHealth resource.ResultsThe use of apps was increased among those individuals that (had) suffered from psychological problems (odds ratio [OR] 1.39, 95% CI 1.23-1.56) and cardiovascular diseases (OR 1.12, 95% CI 1.01-1.24) and those part-time workers that (had) suffered from any of the diseases classified as others (OR 2.08, 95% CI 1.35-3.32). The use of search engines for accessing health information increased among individuals who suffered from psychological problems (OR 1.39, 95% CI 1.25-1.55), cancer (OR 1.26, 95% CI 1.11-1.44), or any of the diseases classified as other diseases (OR 1.27, 95% CI 1.13-1.42). Regarding video services, their use for accessing health information was more likely when the participant was a man (OR 1.31, 95% CI 1.13-1.53), (had) suffered from psychological problems (OR 1.70, 95% CI 1.43-2.01), or (had) suffered from other diseases (OR 1.43, 95% CI 1.20-1.71). The factors associated with an increase in the use of social media for accessing health information were as follows: (had) suffered from psychological problems (OR 1.65, 95% CI 1.42-1.91), working part time (OR 1.35, 95% CI 0.62-2.63), receiving disability benefits (OR 1.42, 95% CI 1.14-1.76), having received an upper secondary school education (OR 1.20, 95% CI 1.03-1.38), being a man with a high household income (OR 1.67, 95% CI 1.07-2.60), suffering from cardiovascular diseases and having a high household income (OR 3.39, 95% CI 1.62-8.16), and suffering from respiratory diseases while being retired (OR 1.95, 95% CI 1.28-2.97).ConclusionsOur findings show that different diseases are currently associated with the use of different eHealth resources. This knowledge is useful for those who plan eHealth interventions as they can take into account which type of eHealth resource may be used for gaining the attention of the different user groups.
Highlights
BackgroundThis is the second paper of a series of 4 that studies electronic Health consumption using the data gathered by the seventh survey of the Tromsø Study (Tromsø 7)
Our findings show that different diseases are currently associated with the use of different electronic health kr (eHealth) resources
This section presents the analysis of eHealth resources as a combined variable that represents any type of eHealth resource
Summary
BackgroundThis is the second paper of a series of 4 that studies electronic Health (eHealth) consumption using the data gathered by the seventh survey of the Tromsø Study (Tromsø 7). In the study by Wynn et al (part 1) [1], we present main findings regarding characteristics of the participants and their use of eHealth. In this second paper, we focus on understanding how long-term or chronic diseases influence the choice of one eHealth resource over another. The broad adoption of smartphones and ubiquitous access to the internet have led to a steady increase in the use of technology that may be used for health purposes, such as search engines, social media, and Web-based video services [13,14,15,16,17]. Those who plan eHealth interventions should take into account which eHealth resources are used most frequently by patients that suffer from different diseases
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