Adapting the eHealth Literacy Scale for Carers of People With Chronic Diseases (eHeals-Carer) in a Sample of Greek and Cypriot Carers of People With Dementia: Reliability and Validation Study

Abstract

BackgroundAs the population ages, many more people will be in need of long-term care. According to a recent report by Alzheimer's Disease International and the Karolinska Institute, 84% of people with dementia are cared for at home and 16% in nursing homes. Several Web-based interventions have been developed to assist the work of carers at home. Measuring the levels of electronic health (eHealth) literacy is of top priority to facilitate inclusion of this population and develop training programs to enhance eHealth literacy skills.ObjectiveThis study aimed to adapt the eHealth Literacy Scale (eHeals) for carers of people with dementia, who speak Greek as their native language and live in Greece and Cyprus, and to test the reliability and validity of the scale for carers.MethodsThe content validity of the eHealth Literacy Scale for Carers of People With Chronic Diseases (eHeals-Carer) was assessed with an expert panel (N=10). A descriptive study with face-to-face interviews among 101 primary carers of people with dementia was conducted. In addition to the eHeals-Carer to assess their perceived eHealth literacy, participants responded to a brief questionnaire regarding characteristics of internet use and provided sociodemographic data. The internal consistency of the tool and the construct validity via an exploratory factor analysis (EFA) were explored.ResultsThe Mean Item-Level Content Validity Index (CVI) and Scale-Level CVI Average was 0.93. The participants were mostly women (75.2%, 76/101), aged less than 60 years (67.3%, 68/101) with secondary education. The internal consistency was estimated at a Cronbach alpha of .83. Two factors were extracted from the EFA: information seeking questions 1 to 5 (factor 1) and evaluation questions 6 to 8 (factor 2).ConclusionseHeals-Carer is the first perceived eHealth literacy tool adapted for carers of people with dementia. The use of Web-based services available for carers could help them and improve the health care system in the long term. In Greece and Cyprus, there is a lack of services, and improving the digital skills of carers could provide them with the means to support themselves at home and improve care provision.International Registered Report Identifier (IRRID)RR2-10.2196/resprot.8080

eHealth Literacy Instruments: Systematic Review of Measurement Properties

“…The characteristics of the included eHealth literacy instruments and studies are presented in Multimedia Appendix 2 [ 24 - 64 ]. The eHEALS, which consists of 8 items scored on a 5-point Likert scale, was originally developed in English [ 24 ], and its psychometrics have been studied in diverse languages: Amharic [ 50 ], Mandarin Chinese [ 26 ], Simplified Chinese [ 34 , 36 , 41 ], Dutch [ 25 ], English [ 27 - 30 , 47 , 53 , 54 , 57 , 58 ], German [ 39 , 44 ], Greek [ 48 ], Hebrew [ 45 ], Hungarian [ 37 ], Indonesian [ 43 ], Italian [ 31 , 33 ], Korean [ 32 , 42 , 55 ], Persian [ 38 , 46 ], Polish [ 35 ], Portuguese [ 52 ], Norwegian [ 49 , 56 ], Serbian [ 51 ], and Swedish [ 40 ]. The eHEALS has been used to evaluate diverse populations, including not only youths, adults, and older adults, but also healthy people, patients, caregivers, and health professionals in school, community, and clinic settings.…”

Attitude of Nursing Students towards Internet Plus Nursing Service

“…Nursing Service" in their spare time, thereby enhancing their personal value. [5][6][7] Nursing students recognized that "Internet Plus Nursing Service" is full of opportunities. In addition, nursing students expressed that satisfying the service needs of patients was the motive for their career choice, which highlighted the professional spirit and responsibility of young nurses, and aligned with the vision of "Internet Plus Nursing Service", making use of Internet technology to effectively expand, extend, and operate a variety of medical resources.…”

Attitude of Nursing Students towards Internet Plus Nursing Service

“…Moreover, nurses could increase their income by making use of "Internet plus Nursing Service" in their spare time, thereby enhancing their personal value. [5][6][7] However, about one third of nursing students still held a neutral or integrity. It should also encourage them to keep good psychological as well as physical qualities and enhance their ability to cope with stress and frustration.…”