eHealth usage among Chinese college students: qualitative findings

Abstract

Background The information technology has developed rapidly with the evolution of internet environment transformed from requiring computer skills for information searching to self-managing health data and applying information. Therefore, a more diverse range of eHealth skills is required and these skills are referred as eHealth literacy. However, most eHealth literacy studies focused mainly on information searching skills. Little is known about eHealth usage behaviors of college students in this day and age. Objectives This study aimed to investigate how Chinese college students engage with eHealth tools and to determine the elements of their eHealth literacy. Methods A purposive sample of 18 Chinese college students was recruited for in-depth interviews. Interviewees included three males and three females of each city (Beijing, Wuhan and Putian) from sports, medical, and non-health-related majors. Conventional content analysis was applied for data analysis. Results The eHealth usage of different-major-students were compared and profiled by three themes of Expectance, Usage pattern and Perception. In Expectances, non-health major students applied eHealth only for urgent health need, sport major students used it to monitor health while medical major students, as frequent users for searching health database. In Usage pattern, purposes of eHealth for personal, practical and theoretical were identified for non-health major, sport major and medical major groups, respectively. In Perceptions, sport students felt more curious about eHealth than the other groups who perceived either fear (non-health students) or skeptical (medical students). By compiling those themes, the whole picture of eHealth usage was emerged. Based on that, the current study identified the related skills using the trilogy of Web 1.0 to 3.0, and derived a conceptual framework for eHealth literacy in the present day. Conclusions The current study obtained a comprehensive understanding of eHealth usage and a framework of eHealth literacy required for Chinese college students. And it gives a clearer look at web 3.0 related eHealth behaviors.

The Usage of Digital Health Technology Among Older Adults in Hong Kong and the Role of Technology Readiness and eHealth Literacy: Path Analysis

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“…The correlation analysis also showed that eHealth literacy was significantly connected with all the variables except discomfort and insecurity. This might be because the current measurement for eHealth literacy is developed on the basis of Web 1.0 technology, which is a web-based environment, while new technologies (eg, social networking services or mobile internet) have been applied in current DHT [ 32 ]. In that case, older adults may still be confused by new DHT and perceived discomfort and insecurity, even if they know how to obtain information from health-related websites.…”

The effects of physical exercise on anxiety symptoms of college students: A meta-analysis

“…Anxiety is becoming a pervasive public health problem that has been associated with unhealthy behaviors, such as lack of physical activity, smoking, and poor diet, subsequently leading to an increased risk of health problems, even among healthy individuals ( Bonnet et al, 2005 ). College students are among the most affected groups of people due to their potentially having to manage their stress, anger, or frustration on their own for the first time ( Liu et al, 2022 ). They must not only face various problems in their studies, work, and feelings but also solve problems of interpersonal communication.…”

“…time (Liu et al, 2022). They must not only face various problems in their studies, work, and feelings but also solve problems of interpersonal communication.…”

The Association between Self-Rated Health and Health Self-Management Ability of Healthcare Undergraduates: The Chain Mediating Roles of eHealth Literacy and Resistance to Peer Influence

“…In a qualitative study, Chinese college students perceived eHealth tools as convenient in health self-management and usually used them to monitor their own health. In particular, medical major college students actively accessed online health information as references to solve their health problems [ 22 ]. However, there is a notable risk of exposure to unreliable health information, a difficulty in identifying the correct information available online, or misuse of health information, which result in adverse effects such as anxiety [ 23 ].…”