Dr. Google

Physicians—The Web—Patients Triangle: Digital Skills and Attitudes towards e-Health Solutions among Physicians in South Eastern Poland—A Cross-Sectional Study in a Pre-Covid-19 Era

Bibliographic Data

ID17801008
AuthorsJoanna Burzyńska (0000-0001-8143-8204, Rzeszów University, corresponding author), Anna Bartosiewicz (0000-0003-2359-7818, Rzeszów University), Paweł Januszewicz (0000-0003-0506-0291, Rzeszów University)
Year2023
Volume20
Issue2
Pages978-978
Publication date2023-01-05
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueInternational Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1661-7827 • E-ISSN: 1660-4601
PublisherMultidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute (PUBLISHER • CH)
DOI10.3390/ijerph20020978
PMID36673740
OpenAlexW4313506678
LanguageEN
Citations received2
References cited43

The investment in digital e-health services is a priority direction in the development of global healthcare systems. While people are increasingly using the Web for health information, it is not entirely clear what physicians' attitudes are towards digital transformation, as well as the acceptance of new technologies in healthcare. The aim of this cross-sectional survey study was to investigate physicians' self-digital skills and their opinions on obtaining online health knowledge by patients, as well as the recognition of physicians' attitudes towards e-health solutions. Principal component analysis (PCA) was performed to emerge the variables from self-designed questionnaire and cross-sectional analysis, comparing descriptive statistics and correlations for dependent variables using the one-way ANOVA ( F -test). A total of 307 physicians participated in the study, reported as using the internet mainly several times a day (66.8%). Most participants (70.4%) were familiar with new technologies and rated their e-health literacy high, although 84.0% reported the need for additional training in this field and reported a need to introduce a larger number of subjects shaping digital skills (75.9%). 53.4% of physicians perceived Internet-sourced information as sometimes reliable and, in general, assessed the effects of its use by their patients negatively (41.7%). Digital skills increased significantly with frequency of internet use ( F = 13.167; p = 0.0001) and decreased with physicians' age and the need for training. Those who claimed that patients often experienced health benefits from online health showed higher digital skills (-1.06). Physicians most often recommended their patients to obtain laboratory test results online (32.2%) and to arrange medical appointments via the Internet (27.0%). Along with the deterioration of physicians' digital skills, the recommendation of e-health solutions decreased ( r = 0.413) and lowered the assessment of e-health solutions for the patient ( r = 0.449). Physicians perceive digitization as a sign of the times and frequently use its tools in daily practice. The evaluation of Dr. Google's phenomenon and online health is directly related to their own e-health literacy skills, but there is still a need for practical training to deal with the digital revolution

Cross-sectional study · Descriptive statistics · Digital health · Family medicine · Health care · Health literacy · Medical education · Telemedicine · The Internet · World Wide Web · Computer Science · Health Literacy and Information Accessibility · Medicine · Mobile Health and mHealth Applications · Psychology · Social Media in Health Education

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