Information and Communication Technologies Interest, Access, and Use: Cross-Sectional Survey of a Community Sample of Urban, Predominantly Black Women.

Sarah M Jabour,Alexis Page,Lycinda Rodriguez,Seventy F Hall,Wendy C Shields,Anika Ah Alvanzo

doi:10.2196/jmir.9962

Abstract

BackgroundInformation and communication technologies (ICT) offer the potential for delivering health care interventions to low socioeconomic populations who often face barriers in accessing health care. However, most studies on ICT for health education and interventions have been conducted in clinical settings.ObjectiveThe aim of this study was to examine access to and use of mobile phones and computers, as well as interest in, using ICT for receipt of behavioral health information among a community sample of urban, predominately black, women with low socioeconomic status.MethodsParticipants (N=220) were recruited from hair salons and social service centers and completed audio-computer assisted self-interviews.ResultsThe majority of the participants (212/220, 96.3%) reported use of a cell phone at least weekly, of which 89.1% (189/212) used smartphones and 62.3% (137/220) reported computer use at least weekly. Of the women included in the study, 51.9% (107/206) reported using a cell phone and 39.4% (74/188) reported using a computer to access health and/or safety information at least weekly. Approximately half of the women expressed an interest in receiving information about stress management (51%-56%) or alcohol and health (45%-46%) via ICT. Smartphone ownership was associated with younger age (odds ratio [OR] 0.92, 95% CI 0.87-0.97) and employment (OR 5.12, 95% CI 1.05-24.95). Accessing health and safety information weekly by phone was associated with younger age (OR 0.96, 95% CI 0.94-0.99) and inversely associated with higher income (OR 0.42, 95% CI 0.20-0.92).ConclusionsOur findings suggest that ICT use, particularly smartphone use, is pervasive among predominantly black women with low socioeconomic status in urban, nonclinical settings. These results show that ICT is a promising modality for delivering health information to this population. Further exploration of the acceptability, feasibility, and effectiveness of using ICT to disseminate behavioral health education and intervention is warranted.

Highlights

Information and communication technologies (ICT) use has become widespread across the United States
Our findings suggest that ICT use, smartphone use, is pervasive among predominantly black women with low socioeconomic status in urban, nonclinical settings
These results show that ICT is a promising modality for delivering health information to this population

Summary

Introduction

Information and communication technologies (ICT) use has become widespread across the United States. Evidence suggests that internet-based interventions can effectively reduce drinking [7,11,12,13] and are a promising way to improve mental health symptoms [14,15]. This may be especially relevant for minority populations living in low-income, urban neighborhoods, as members of minority populations are less likely to access health care in traditional medical settings; and services for co-occurring mental health and substance misuse are less likely to be found in urban neighborhoods [16,17,18,19]. Most studies on ICT for health education and interventions have been conducted in clinical settings

Results

Discussion

Conclusion