Usage of eHealth/mHealth Services among Young Czech Adults and the Impact of COVID-19: An Explorative Survey

Various mHealth/eHealth services play an increasingly important role in healthcare systems and personal lifestyle management. Yet, the relative popularity of these services among the young population of the Czech Republic was not known. Therefore, we carried out an on-line survey with a convenience...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Michal Dolezel, Zdenek Smutny
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2021-07-01
Series:International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/13/7147
Description
Summary:Various mHealth/eHealth services play an increasingly important role in healthcare systems and personal lifestyle management. Yet, the relative popularity of these services among the young population of the Czech Republic was not known. Therefore, we carried out an on-line survey with a convenience sample (<i>n</i> = 299) of young adults aged 18–29 and living in the Czech Republic. To this end, we adapted the survey instrument which was previously used in a similar study conducted in a different cultural context (Hong Kong). In our study, we found out that <i>health tutorial</i> activities (i.e., acquiring information on diet, exercise, fitness) were the most common among our respondents (M = 2.81, SD = 1.14). These were followed by <i>health information seeking</i> activities (i.e., acquiring information on medical problems) (M = 2.63, SD = 0.89) and <i>medical services</i> (i.e., the eHealth/mHealth services that provide infrastructural support, such as ePrescription and doctor appointment organizers) (M = 2.18, SD = 0.97). Based on the grouping according to gender and existing health condition, pairwise comparisons showed statistically significant differences. We also briefly analyzed the influence of the COVID-19 pandemic on the examined activities. Based on their relative popularity, we suggest leveraging the potential of <i>health tutorial</i> activities to improve public health.
ISSN:1661-7827
1660-4601