TY - GEN A1 - De Santis, Karina Karolina A1 - Müllmann, Saskia A1 - Pan, Chen-Chia A1 - Hoffmann, Stephanie A1 - Spallek, Jacob A1 - Haug, Ulrike A1 - Zeeb, Hajo T1 - Increased use of digital health technologies but reduced digital health literacy: a comparison in results of two nationwide surveys in 2020 and 2022 in Germany T2 - German Medical Science N2 - Objective: Digital technologies with internet access, including computers or mobile devices, can contribute to health promotion and disease prevention. This study aimed to compare the results of two nationwide surveys of internet users in Germany that investigated the use pattern, the attitudes towards, and the factors associated with digital technology use in health context. Methods: This study adheres to the ethical guidelines according to the Declaration of Helsinki. Two cross-sectional surveys of internet users living in Germany were performed in 2020 (survey 1) and 2022 (survey 2). Participants were recruited from two different consumer panel samples owned by a market research institute (Cerner Enviza GmbH). Participants provided verbal informed consent for participation in the study according to the Cerner Enviza data privacy policy. Computer-assisted telephone interviews were conducted by Cerner Enviza using questionnaires with 28-30 items developed by study authors. Anonymous data were purchased and analysed by study authors using descriptive statistics. Associations between digital technology use and participant characteristics were tested using binary logistic regression analyses. Results: The participants were adult internet users (survey 1: n=991; survey 2: n=1020). Participant characteristics were similar in both surveys (47-52% female, 50-55% aged 40-65 years, 62-66% with less than tertiary education, 42-45% with less than country-average household income, 81-82% residents in former West Germany, and 67-71% residents in large cities). A similar number of participants in both surveys reported digital technology use in any health context (57-61%) and rated digital technologies for physical activity promotion as easy to use (87-92%). Digital technology use increased in 2022 relative to 2020. Specifically, more participants reported health app (63% vs. 36%) and digital technology use for physical activity promotion (any use: 44% vs. 31%; weekly-daily use: 91% vs. 64%) in 2022 vs. 2020. In contrast, digital health literacy decreased in 2022 relative to 2020. Specifically, less participants had high digital health literacy (57% vs. 69%) and were confident in using online information for health decisions (34% vs. 43%) in 2022 vs. 2020. Digital technology use was associated with higher digital health literacy and younger age (in both surveys), higher income (in survey 1) and residence in larger cities (in survey 2). Conclusion: Digital technologies targeting some health domains, such as physical activity promotion are frequently used and accepted by the users. However, digital health literacy and especially the confidence in using online information for health decisions appear to have decreased in 2022 relative to 2020. Factors that promote digital technology use for health promotion and disease prevention need to be investigated in future studies. Considering that digital health literacy is associated with digital technology use, further research on user needs and preferences is required to understand the reasons for reduction in such literacy in this study. Y1 - 2024 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:0183-24gmds6319 ER - TY - GEN A1 - De Santis, Karina Karolina A1 - Müllmann, Saskia A1 - Pan, Chen-Chia A1 - Hoffmann, Stephanie A1 - Spallek, Jacob A1 - Haug, Ulrike A1 - Zeeb, Hajo T1 - Use and attitudes toward digital technologies in health context: A nationwide survey in Germany T2 - Gesundheitswesen N2 - Introduction Digital technologies, such as health apps, can contribute to health promotion and disease prevention. This study investigated the use and attitudes toward digital technologies in health context using a nationwide survey. Methods Adult internet users (n=1020) from 16 federal states in Germany participated in computer-assisted telephone interviews in November 2022. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and regression analyses. Results Overall, 61% of participants reported internet use in health context. Among the users, digital technologies were used to obtain general health information by 63% and to support physical activity or to obtain information on cancer by less than 50%. Over 90% of users rated such technologies as easy to use and useful to obtain health information, to support physical activity or to obtain information on cancer. However, confidence in using the internet for health decisions was low. Digital technology use in health context was associated with higher eHealth literacy. Digital technologies were preferred by younger participants to support physical activity and by older participants to obtain information on cancer. Conclusion Although digital technologies are easy to use, the use of digital technologies for health promotion and disease prevention and confidence in using the internet for health decisions were low among internet users in this study. Factors that promote digital technology use for health promotion and prevention need to be investigated in further studies. Y1 - 2023 UR - https://www.thieme-connect.com/products/ejournals/abstract/10.1055/s-0043-1770610 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1055/s-0043-1770610 VL - 85 IS - 809 SP - 812 EP - 813 ER -