The Acceptance of e-Health Solutions Among Patients with Chronic Respiratory Conditions

Abstract

Objective: The main objective of this study was to assess the acceptance of the use of e-health applications by patients suffering from bronchial asthma and other chronic respiratory conditions. Subjects and Methods: The questionnaire, consisting of 73 items, was distributed among 200 patients remaining under the care of a tertiary-care pulmonology center in Krakow, Poland (return rate, 82.5%; n = 165). Results: The mean age (standard deviation) of respondents was 50.8 (14.9) years. Of the respondents, 48.5% (n = 80) suffered from bronchial asthma, 29.1% (n = 48) from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and 32.1% (n = 53) from other respiratory diseases. The Internet was used by 58.2% (n = 96) of respondents. The most frequent types of health-related information searched for online included diseases (59.4%) and treatments (medication, 54.2%; treatment options, 58.3%), as well as information about physicians and healthcare institutions (32.3% and 31.3%, respectively). The differences between acceptance scores for specific e-health applications were significant (analysis of variance, Friedman chi-squared = 166.315, p < 0.001). The respondents revealed the highest acceptance of e-health solutions allowing them to book appointments with physicians, access laboratory test results, view educational resources, and renew prescriptions. The acceptance of the most popular e-health applications depended on the duration of disease, respondent's age and education, and his or her use of computers and the Internet. Conclusions: Patients suffering from chronic respiratory conditions demonstrate higher levels of acceptance of e-health applications such as appointment booking, prescription renewal, and access to information (laboratory test results, educational resources) than of solutions directly related to medical care (communication with healthcare providers, disease monitoring).

Searching Online for Health-Related Information by People Suffering from Respiratory Allergy and Asthma: The Results of a Survey Study

“…Moreover, it was observed that in both study groups the respondents searched for health-related information online, even though they declared that health-related information published on the Internet is not credible in their opinion. Similar results were obtained by Duplaga [16]; in a study carried out in Poland in a group of 165 patients suffering from asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) or other diseases of the respiratory system. It is worth underlining that only 16.7% of respondents in the study by Duplaga searched for information on how other patients coped with a similar health issue [16].…”

“…Similar results were obtained by Duplaga [16]; in a study carried out in Poland in a group of 165 patients suffering from asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) or other diseases of the respiratory system. It is worth underlining that only 16.7% of respondents in the study by Duplaga searched for information on how other patients coped with a similar health issue [16]. In the present study this percentage was considerably higher -it amounted to 33%.…”

“…This outcome is confirmed also in the present analysis, despite the fact that the difference was not statistically significant (respectively: 97% vs. 92.3%, p > 0.05). In the study by Thackeray [18], as in the study by Duplaga [16], a statistically significant relation was proved by the respondent declaration 'Consulted online rankings or reviews' and the occurrence of chronic disease (49.6%, p < 0.001). Having a chronic disease increased the odds of consulting online rankings [18].…”

Internet Use for Health-Care Information by Subjects With COPD

“…Educating patients with regard to COPD is crucial for better disease management, greater treatment adherence, better symptom control, and consequently, better quality of life. 17 The aim of this study was to assess the proportion of subjects with COPD in São Paulo who access the internet for information about their disease. Only 13.9% of the 382 subjects with COPD who were interviewed used the internet to search for information about their disease, and this access was directly related to high economic level (including education level), low-grade dyspnea, and having a computer at home.…”

Social innovations as a way to overcome health inequalities

“…Со-гласно статистике ВОЗ, число людей, имеющих хотя бы одно хроническое заболевание, неуклонно возрастает и составляет до 40 % от общей численности населения [21]. Как отмечают эксперты, эффективность их лечения зависит от регулярности взаимодействия врача и пациента, что требует значительных расходов в рамках системы здравоохранения.…”