Electronic Health Use in a Representative Sample of 18,497 Respondents in Norway (The Seventh Tromsø Study - Part 1): Population-Based Questionnaire Study

Abstract

Background Electronic health (eHealth) services may help people obtain information and manage their health, and they are gaining attention as technology improves, and as traditional health services are placed under increasing strain. We present findings from the first representative, large-scale, population-based study of eHealth use in Norway. Objective The objectives of this study were to examine the use of eHealth in a population above 40 years of age, the predictors of eHealth use, and the predictors of taking action following the use of these eHealth services. Methods Data were collected through a questionnaire given to participants in the seventh survey of the Tromsø Study (Tromsø 7). The study involved a representative sample of the Norwegian population aged above 40 years old. A subset of the more extensive questionnaire was explicitly related to eHealth use. Data were analyzed using logistic regression analyses. Results Approximately half (52.7%; 9752/18,497) of the respondents had used some form of eHealth services during the last year. About 58% (5624/9698) of the participants who had responded to a question about taking some type of action based on information gained from using eHealth services had done so. The variables of being a woman (OR 1.58; 95% CI 1.47-1.68), of younger age (40-49 year age group: OR 4.28, 95% CI 3.63-5.04), with a higher education (tertiary/long: OR 3.77, 95% CI 3.40-4.19), and a higher income (>1 million kr [US $100,000]: OR 2.19, 95% CI 1.77-2.70) all positively predicted the use of eHealth services. Not living with a spouse (OR 1.14, 95% CI 1.04-1.25), having seen a general practitioner (GP) in the last year (OR 1.66, 95% CI 1.53-1.80), and having had some disease (such as heart disease, cancer, asthma, etc; OR 1.29, 95% CI 1.18-1.41) also positively predicted eHealth use. Self-rated health status did not significantly influence eHealth use. Taking some action following eHealth use was predicted with the variables of being a woman (OR 1.16, 95% CI 1.07-1.27), being younger (40-49 year age group: OR 1.72, 95% CI 1.34-2.22), having a higher education (tertiary/long: OR 1.65, 95% CI 1.42-1.92), having seen a GP in the last year (OR 1.58, 95% CI 1.41-1.77), and having ever had a disease (such as heart disease, cancer or asthma; OR 1.26, 95% CI 1.14-1.39). Conclusions eHealth appears to be an essential supplement to traditional health services for those aged above 40 years old, and especially so for the more resourceful. Being a woman, being younger, having higher education, having had a disease, and having seen a GP in the last year all positively predicted using the internet to get health information and taking some action based on this information.

Special Issue on E-Health Services

“…Thus, e-health services may improve the immediacy of access as well as the equality of access to quality health information and improve self-management and thereby help to alleviate the burden on health services. In addition, e-health can improve the quality of health services by increasing shared decision-making and by empowering citizens, patients, and health care professionals [1,2]. E-health can be defined as the use of information and communication technology for the enablement or improvement of health care [3].…”

“…The most frequently used e-health service, by far, is online health information, and studies from Europe and the US suggest that more than half of the general population and most internet users have used the internet to search for information about health and illness [2,[7][8][9]. Of those who do search for health information online, about 6 in 10 take some type of action based on the information they find online [2,8]. While the access to e-health information and other services is increasing around the world, there still remains a divide between those who use and those who do not use these digital tools.…”

“…While the access to e-health information and other services is increasing around the world, there still remains a divide between those who use and those who do not use these digital tools. This divide is linked to several factors, including, not least, socio-economic differences [2,9].…”

Tietojärjestelmät sairaanhoitajien työn tukena eri toimintaympäristöissä: kokemuksia tuotemerkeittäin

“…Sairaanhoitajat arvioivat potilastietojärjestelmien tukevan pääsääntöisesti organisaatioiden sisäistä yhteistyötä [4,7], mutta heikosti organisaatioiden välistä yhteistyötä [4]. Viime vuosina myös väestön sähköinen asiointi on lisääntynyt ja ammattilaisten ja potilaiden välisiin sähköisiin vuorovaikutusmahdollisuuksiin on panostettu [4,[24][25][26].…”

Use of e-Health by Healthcare Professionals vs. non-Healthcare Professionals

“…The most frequently used type of e-health is obtaining information about health and illness by using web search engines such as Google. However, other services are gaining importance as sources of health information and other health-related content, including health apps, social media and video services such as YouTube [1][2][3]. Health professionals may be early adopters of e-health and may through their interaction with patients play a positive role in increasing patients' use of such services [4].…”