Assessment of electronic health literacy and its association with self-management among gout patients: A cross-sectional study

Abstract

Objectives: This study aimed to assess electronic health (eHealth) literacy and self-management ability among gout patients in China and analyze their correlation.

Patients and methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted on 168 male gout patients (mean age: 44.5±13.8 years, range, 22 to 76 years) using a gout patient self-management assessment scale and the Chinese version of eHealth Literacy Scale between August 2020 and February 2021. The correlation between eHealth literacy and gout self-management was examined. Multivariate regression analysis was conducted to identify the predictors of gout patients’ self-management ability.

Results: The scores of eHealth literacy and self-management were 28.56±1.72 and 3.59±0.78, respectively, which were both in the medium level, with the lowest score in the lifestyle management dimension. Pearson’s correlation analysis showed that eHealth literacy was significantly and positively associated with the total score of gout self-management and its four dimensions. Literacy in eHealth (β=0.399, p<0.001, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.023-0.069), living with family members (β=0.336, p=0.001, 95% CI: 0.313-1.234), living in an urban area (β=0.312, p=0.005, 95% CI: 0.191- 1.022), and having college or a higher level of education (β=0.268, p=0.016, 95% CI: 0.032-0.302) were the significant predictors of gout patients’ self-management ability, explained 30.6% of the total variance.

Conclusion: Literacy in eHealth was the most significant predictor of gout self-management ability. Gout patients had the lowest score in the perceived ability of searching and applying online health-related information, indicating that both the quantity and quality of gout-specific information needs to be enlarged in electronic resources. Healthcare providers could design and implement eHealth literacy interventions to strengthen patients’ gout self-management ability

Citation: Qian J, Yao X, Liu T. Assessment of electronic health literacy and its association with self-management among gout patients: A crosssectional study. Arch Rheumatol 2024;39(3):358- 367. doi: 10.46497/ArchRheumatol.2024.10397.

The study protocol was approved by the Affiliated Hospital of Qingdao University Ethics Committee (date: 16.03.2020, no: QYFYWZLL25629). The study was conducted in accordance with the principles of the Declaration of Helsinki.

A written informed consent was obtained from each patient.

Conceptualization: T.L., X.Y.Y.; Data curation, writing-original draft: J.Z.Q., X.Y.Y.; Formal analysis, software: J.Z.Q., T.L.; Investigation, methodology: J.Z.Q., X.Y.Y.; Writing-review and editing: T.L. All authors were involved in drafting the article or revising it critically for important intellectual content, and all authors approved the final version to be submitted for publication.

The authors declared no conflicts of interest with respect to the authorship and/or publication of this article.

The authors received no financial support for the research and/or authorship of this article.

The authors gratefully thank all the participants for their participation in the study and acknowledge the assistance and support from healthcare providers in the gout specialist outpatient clinic.

The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.