Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2018 Sep 10;4(3):e64.
doi: 10.2196/publichealth.9687.

eHealth Literacy in People Living with HIV: Systematic Review

Hae-Ra Han  1   2 , Hyejeong Hong  1 , Laura E Starbird  1 , Song Ge  1   3   4 , Athena D Ford  1 , Susan Renda  1 , Michael Sanchez  1 , Jennifer Stewart  1
Affiliations
Review

eHealth Literacy in People Living with HIV: Systematic Review

Hae-Ra Han et al. JMIR Public Health Surveill. .

Abstract

Background: In the era of eHealth, eHealth literacy is emerging as a key concept to promote self-management of chronic conditions such as HIV. However, there is a paucity of research focused on eHealth literacy for people living with HIV (PLWH) as a means of improving their adherence to HIV care and health outcome.

Objective: The objective of this study was to critically appraise the types, scope, and nature of studies addressing eHealth literacy as a study variable in PLWH.

Methods: This systematic review used comprehensive database searches, such as PubMed, EMBASE, CINAHL, Web of Science, and Cochrane, to identify quantitative studies targeting PLWH published in English before May 2017 with eHealth literacy as a study variable.

Results: We identified 56 unique records, and 7 papers met the eligibility criteria. The types of study designs varied (descriptive, n=3; quasi-experimental, n=3; and experimental, n=1) and often involved community-based settings (n=5), with sample sizes ranging from 18 to 895. In regards to instruments used, 3 studies measured eHealth literacy with validated instruments such as the eHealth Literacy Scale (eHEALS); 2 studies used full or short versions of Test of Functional Health Literacy in Adults, whereas the remaining 2 studies used study-developed questions. The majority of studies included in the review reported high eHealth literacy among the samples. The associations between eHealth literacy and health outcomes in PLWH were not consistent. In the areas of HIV transmission risk, retention in care, treatment adherence, and virological suppression, the role of eHealth literacy is still not fully understood. Furthermore, the implications for future research are discussed.

Conclusions: Understanding the role of eHealth literacy is an essential step to encourage PLWH to be actively engaged in their health care. Avenues to pursue in the role of eHealth literacy and PLWH should consider the development and use of standardized eHealth literacy definitions and measures.

Keywords: HIV; eHealth literacy; mobile phones; systematic review.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Conflicts of Interest: None declared.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Literature review flowchart.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. World Health Organization. Global Health Observatory (GHO) data http://www.who.int/gho/hiv/en/
    1. Centers for Disease Control Prevention. 2017. HIV in the United States: At A Glance https://www.cdc.gov/hiv/statistics/overview/ataglance.html .
    1. Millard T, Elliott J, Girdler S. Self-management education programs for people living with HIV/AIDS: a systematic review. AIDS Patient Care STDs. 2013;27(2):103–13. - PubMed
    1. Bradley H, Hall HI, Wolitski RJ, Van HMM, Stone AE, LaFlam M, Skarbinski J, Higa DH, Prejean J, Frazier EL, Patel R, Huang P, An Q, Song R, Tang T, Valleroy LA. Vital Signs: HIV diagnosis, care, and treatment among persons living with HIV--United States, 2011. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 2014 Nov 28;63(47):1113–7. https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm6347a5.htm mm6347a5 - PMC - PubMed
    1. World Health Organization mHealth: New horizons for health through mobile technologies. Global Observatory for eHealth Series - Volume 3. [2018-08-17]. http://www.who.int/goe/publications/goe_mhealth_web.pdf .