Users’ attitudes towards personal health records

Abstract

SummaryBackground: Prevention and management of chronic conditions is a priority for many healthcare systems. Personal health records have been suggested to facilitate implementation of chronic care programs. However, patients' attitude towards personal health records (PHRs) can significantly affect the adoption rates and use of PHRs. Objectives: to evaluate the attitude of patients with Type II diabetes towards using a PHR to manage their condition. Methods: We used a cross-sectional exploratory pilot study. Fifty-four (54) patients used a PHR to monitor and record their blood glucose levels, diet, and activities for 30 days, and to communicate with their clinicians. At the end of the study, patients responded to a survey based on three constructs borrowed from different technology acceptance frameworks: relative advantage, job fit, and perceived usefulness. A multivariate predictive model was formed using partial least squaring technique (PLS) and the effect of each construct on the patients' attitude towards system use was evaluated. Patients also participated in a semi-structured interview. Results: We found a significant positive correlation between job fit and attitude (JF → ATT = +0.318, p<0.01). There was no statistical evidence of any moderating or mediating effect of other main constructs or any of the confounding factors (i.e., age, gender, time after diagnosed) on attitude. Conclusion:The attitude of patients towards using PHR in management of their diabetes was positive. Their attitude was mainly influenced by the extent to which the system helped them better perform activities and self-manage their condition.

Adoption of a Personal Health Record in the Digital Age: Cross-Sectional Study

“…Our results indicated that increasing age is associated with lower odds of using the PHR. This is consistent with the existing literature [44,46,[48][49][50][51]. Even though older patients have more chronic conditions and are in the greatest need of support in disease self-management, many do not use a PHR for a variety of reasons.…”

“…Disparities in PHR use by age have frequently been cited in the literature with many studies showing that older individuals are less likely to use a PHR. Confounding factors include low computer literacy, low eHealth literacy, or less inclination to use technology, ultimately leading to more difficulties with advanced technologies such as PHRs [17,32,48]. In a study using a simulated PHR in adults aged 40 years and above, the authors concluded that adults with age-related declines in reasoning and cognitive abilities were more likely to have difficulties completing more complex health management tasks using a PHR [52].…”

Functionalities and Issues in the Implementation of Personal Health Records: Systematic Review

“…Some PHRs also enable patients to contact others in a similar situation [ 28 , 29 , 83 , 88 ], support groups [ 62 , 87 ], family [ 75 , 89 ], or customer support and billing departments [ 22 ]. Some studies also suggested this function have the ability to maintain a record of past conversations [ 36 ] and provide email or text notification when a health care provider leaves a message on the PHR [ 24 , 93 , 94 ]. Moreover, some studies suggested tracking the status of a question [ 80 ], message multiple providers at the same time [ 24 ], and import selected emails and interactions on the social network to PHRs [ 86 ].…”

“…Complicated data entry may cause users to not enter data correctly into their PHR [118]. The reduction and simplification of PHR system data entry should be considered in PHR design [35,93,118]. Users prefer easy to use, simple, and user-friendly interface [24,41,45,54,61,62,65,92,94,110,118,[120][121][122][123][124].…”

Application of Standard Terminologies for the Development of a Customized Healthcare Service based on a PHR Platform

“…Interest in personal health management is increasing as aging, and chronic diseases are growing [10]. Recently, active services focused on prevention and health promotion are needed [11] to record life logs such as exercise, food and sleep through various wearable devices [12][13][14] and measure blood pressure, blood sugar, and weight through personal health devices [15].…”