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Cited by 43Health Literacy and Information AccessibilityHealth, Technology, Consumer BehaviorTechnology Use by Older Adults

Associations of eHealth Literacy With Health Services Utilization Among College Students: Cross-Sectional Study.

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Luo, Yi Fang, Yang, Shu Ching, Chen, An-Sing, Chiang, Chia-Hsun·2018·Journal of Medical Internet Research
DOI 10.2196/jmir.8897PMC PMC6231732

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Abstract

BACKGROUND Electronic health (eHealth) literacy has become an important topic in health fields. Studies have found that individuals with higher eHealth literacy are more likely to use preventive care services and to have effective interactions with their physicians. In addition, previous studies have revealed a gender difference in the utilization of physician access and outpatient services. Nevertheless, few studies have explored the effect of the three levels of eHealth literacy (functional, interactive, and critical levels) on the four aspects of health services utilization (type, site, purpose, and time interval). It is unclear whether the associations between these three levels of eHealth literacy and the four aspects of health services utilization among college students are positive or negative. OBJECTIVE The objective of this study was to investigate the associations among gender, eHealth literacy, and health services utilization. METHODS We used the eHealth Literacy Scale, a 12-item instrument designed to measure college students’ functional, interactive, and critical eHealth literacy, and the Health Services Utilization Scale, which is a 10-item instrument developed to measure the four aspects of health services utilization by college students. A nationally representative sample of 489 college students in Taiwan was surveyed. We conducted multiple regression analysis to examine the associations among gender, eHealth literacy, and health services utilization. RESULTS The study found that being female was negatively related to the purpose aspect of health services utilization (t487=−2.85, P<.01). However, the R2 value of gender on the purpose aspect was low enough to be ignored. Critical (t484=2.98-4.23, P<.01) and interactive eHealth literacy (t484=2.43-2.89, P<.05) were related to three aspects of the health services utilization, and functional eHealth literacy was related to the purpose aspect (t484=−4.99, P<.001). CONCLUSIONS This study showed that Taiwanese college students with interactive eHealth literacy were more likely to have a higher rate of outpatient care use. Moreover, Taiwanese college students with critical eHealth literacy were more likely to make full use of health services than those with functional eHealth literacy. Finally, the educated and age-restricted sample may attenuate gender disparities in health services utilization among Taiwanese college students.

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Cited by

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Authors
Luo, Y. F., Yang, S. C., Chen, A.-S., & Chiang, C.-H.
Affiliations
  • National Sun Yat-sen University (TW)
  • National Chung Cheng University (TW)
Corresponding author
Chiang, Chia-Hsun
ORCID
Venue
Journal of Medical Internet Research
Publisher
JMIR Publications Inc.
Published
2018-10-25
Volume
20
Issue
10
Pages
e283
ISSN
1438-8871 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.2196/jmir.8897
PMC
PMC6231732
OpenAlex
W2884110415
Cited by
43
References
4
Citations by year
2026: 4 · 2025: 3 · 2024: 8 · 2023: 8 · 2022: 7 · 2021: 6 · 2020: 5 · 2019: 2
FWCI
4.74
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
cc-by
Locations
  • Journal of Medical Internet Research (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Health Professions › General Health Professions › Health Literacy and Information Accessibility
  • Health Sciences › Health Professions › Health Information Management › Health, Technology, Consumer Behavior
  • Social Sciences › Demography › Technology Use by Older Adults
Keywords
digital health literacy, health care utilization, university students, gender differences
MeSH terms
Facilities and Services Utilization, Cross-Sectional Studies, Female, Humans, Male, Surveys and Questionnaires, Students, Telemedicine, Health Literacy

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