eHealth Literacy Mediating Social Support and Technology Acceptance Among Patients With Chronic Illnesses: A Cross-Sectional Study.
Lian-Shin Shiu, Yu-Shan Huang, Chieh Yu Liu and 2 others
PMID 40922516WHAT IT FOUND
Higher eHealth literacy was strongly linked to greater acceptance of digital health tools among 169 patients with chronic illnesses in Taiwan.
Social support helped only by building eHealth literacy, not directly.
Key findings
01Higher eHealth literacy was the strongest factor linked to greater acceptance of digital health tools.
02Social support was not significantly directly linked to acceptance after eHealth literacy was included.
03Social support was linked to acceptance indirectly through eHealth literacy.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The cross-sectional design cannot show that social support or eHealth literacy caused acceptance. Purposive sampling may have selected patients who were already more interested in digital health. All measures were self-reported, so patients may have overestimated or underestimated their literacy, support or acceptance. The findings come from patients in Taiwan with chronic kidney disease, diabetes or cardiovascular disease, so they may not apply to other cultures or conditions. The study did not measure prior experience or familiarity with technology, which could influence acceptance.
Declared interests
The authors declared no conflicts of interest. The study was funded by the Ministry of Science and Technology, Taiwan.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that increasing social support will cause patients to accept digital health tools. This was a cross-sectional survey, so it showed associations, not causation. The direct link between social support and acceptance was not significant after eHealth literacy was considered.