<i>Letter to the Editor:</i> Improving Health Literacy Critical to Optimize Global Telemedicine During COVID-19

Nair, Satish Chandrasekhar; Satish, Karthyayani Priya; Sreedharan, Jayadevan; Muttappallymyalil, Jayakumary; Ibrahim, Halah

doi:10.1089/tmj.2020.0175

Cited by 12 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 4 publications

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“…Healthcare professionals should recognize and assess every patient’s ability to understand and process the healthcare information that is provided. This is especially important in older patients and when new technologies, such as web-based modalities or telehealth services, are introduced [ 22 , 28 ]. Continuing professional development programs, focused on optimizing patient-clinician communication skills, are needed to help physicians develop and improve skills for effective interactions with low health literacy patients.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Health literacy in a high income Arab country: A nation-wide cross-sectional survey study

et al. 2022

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Introduction Health literacy is a powerful predictor of health outcomes, but remains a global challenge. There is a paucity of published data and limited understanding of the health literacy of patients in the Middle East. The purpose of this study was to assess the patient health literacy levels in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and identify associated demographic characteristics. Methods A cross-sectional survey of adult patients attending public and private hospitals and primary care clinics was conducted across the UAE between January 2019 and May 2020. Chi-square test was used to analyze the association between health literacy and demographic variables. Ordinal regression was adopted to analyze the data for statistically significant independent variables. Results 2349 of 2971 patients responded (79% response rate). Slightly less than one-quarter (23.9%) of patients surveyed demonstrated adequate health literacy. Over a third of women respondents (31.7%) possessed adequate health literacy, as compared to only 13% of men surveyed (p<0.001). Participant age was significantly (p<0.001) associated with health literacy levels, with approximately 50% of participants above age 50 years (51–75 years) demonstrating inadequate health literacy. Education was also positively correlated with health literacy. Adequate health literacy levels were twofold higher (30.5%, p<0.001) in patients with high school education, as compared to patients without secondary education. Conclusions The high proportion of patients with inadequate health literacy in our study confirms that the health literacy deficit is a challenge in the UAE. Targeted interventions are needed to improve health literacy, particularly for older individuals, to optimize healthcare utilization and improve individual and population health outcomes.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Health literacy in a high income Arab country: A nation-wide cross-sectional survey study

et al. 2022

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“…Incomplete, untrue and false health information affects people's abilities to apply this information to decision‐making regarding their health. Therefore, it is particularly important to have good eHealth literacy (Nair et al, 2020).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Relationship between eHealth literacy and psychological status during COVID‐19 pandemic: A survey of Chinese residents

et al. 2020

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Aims To investigate the eHealth literacy and the psychological status of Chinese residents during the COVID‐19 pandemic and explore their interrelationship. Background The COVID‐19 outbreak has placed intense psychological pressure on community residents. Their psychological status may be affected by eHealth literacy due to home isolation during this rampant pandemic. Methods This is a Web‐based cross‐sectional survey conducted on the JD Health platform, which resulted in 15,000 respondents having participated in this survey. The eHealth Literacy Questionnaire (EHLQ), Patient Health Questionnaire‐9 (PHQ‐9), Insomnia Severity Index (ISI) and Impact of Event Scale‐Revised (IES‐R) were used. The Pearson correlation was used to analyse the relationship between eHealth literacy and depression, insomnia and post‐traumatic stress disorder. Results The score of eHealth literacy was 48.88 ± 8.46, and 11.4%, 6.8% and 20.1% of respondents experienced moderate to severe depression, insomnia and post‐traumatic stress disorder. eHealth literacy negatively correlated with depression ( r = −0.331), insomnia ( r = −0.366) and post‐traumatic stress disorder ( r = −0.320). Conclusion eHealth literacy is closely related to psychological status. Improving eHealth literacy may contribute to maintaining good psychological well‐being. Implications for Nursing Management It is necessary to strengthen the education of primary health care providers to enhance their ability to help community residents effectively use eHealth information.

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“…It is, therefore, critical for countries worldwide to improve health literacy to optimize patient access and engagement in this expanding world of digital medical care delivery." [64] 2 Education "Lastly, some developing countries face major obstacles to the effective delivery of digital health solutions in rural and remote locations, such as incomplete or insufficient basic digital infrastructures (eg, computers, internet networks, and electricity), lack of sustainable funding to develop, operate, and maintain digital platforms, and high telecommunication costs" [42] 7 Socioeconomic status See "Gender or sex" above [41] 1 Social capital "The network has focused on groups particularly vulnerable to severe symptoms of COVID-19, including the elderly, pregnant women, children, and patients with chronic health problems." [43] 17 Plus a Not available.…”

Section: Demonstrative Quote Total Publications N Themementioning

confidence: 99%

Barriers to Use of Remote Monitoring Technologies Used to Support Patients With COVID-19: Rapid Review

Houlding¹,

Mate²,

Engler³

et al. 2021

JMIR Mhealth Uhealth

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Background The COVID-19 pandemic has acted as a catalyst for the development and adoption of a broad range of remote monitoring technologies (RMTs) in health care delivery. It is important to demonstrate how these technologies were implemented during the early stages of this pandemic to identify their application and barriers to adoption, particularly among vulnerable populations. Objective The purpose of this knowledge synthesis was to present the range of RMTs used in delivering care to patients with COVID-19 and to identify perceived benefits of and barriers to their use. The review placed a special emphasis on health equity considerations. Methods A rapid review of published research was conducted using Embase, MEDLINE, and QxMD for records published from the inception of COVID-19 (December 2019) to July 6, 2020. Synthesis involved content analysis of reported benefits of and barriers to the use of RMTs when delivering health care to patients with COVID-19, in addition to health equity considerations. Results Of 491 records identified, 48 publications that described 35 distinct RMTs were included in this review. RMTs included use of existing technologies (eg, videoconferencing) and development of new ones that have COVID-19–specific applications. Content analysis of perceived benefits generated 34 distinct codes describing advantages of RMTs, mapped to 10 themes overall. Further, 52 distinct codes describing barriers to use of RMTs were mapped to 18 themes. Prominent themes associated with perceived benefits included a lower burden of care (eg, for hospitals, health care practitioners; 28 records), reduced infection risk (n=33), and support for vulnerable populations (n=14). Prominent themes reflecting barriers to use of RMTs included equity-related barriers (eg, affordability of technology for users, poor internet connectivity, poor health literacy; n=16), the need for quality “best practice” guidelines for use of RMTs in clinical care (n=12), and the need for additional resources to develop and support new technologies (n=11). Overall, 23 of 48 records commented on equity characteristics that stratify health opportunities and outcomes, including general characteristics that vary over time (eg, age, comorbidities; n=17), place of residence (n=11), and socioeconomic status (n=7). Conclusions Results of this rapid review highlight the breadth of RMTs being used to monitor and inform treatment of COVID-19, the potential benefits of using these technologies, and existing barriers to their use. Results can be used to prioritize further efforts in the implementation of RMTs (eg, developing “best practice” guidelines for use of RMTs and generating strategies to improve equitable access for marginalized populations).

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Letter to the Editor: Improving Health Literacy Critical to Optimize Global Telemedicine During COVID-19

Cited by 12 publications

References 4 publications

Health literacy in a high income Arab country: A nation-wide cross-sectional survey study

Health literacy in a high income Arab country: A nation-wide cross-sectional survey study

Relationship between eHealth literacy and psychological status during COVID‐19 pandemic: A survey of Chinese residents

Barriers to Use of Remote Monitoring Technologies Used to Support Patients With COVID-19: Rapid Review

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