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. 2025 May 14.
doi: 10.1111/jocn.17811. Online ahead of print.

Digital Health Literacy in Patients With Hypertension: A Cross-Sectional Study

Melania Totaro  1 , Giancarlo Cicolini  2 , Alessandro Bianconi  3 , Matteo Fiore  3 , Anastasia Angelini  4 , Gloria Ciampechini  5 , Mirko Ferretti  5 , Cesare Luigi Nonnis  6 , Paola Quaranta  7 , Dania Comparcini  8 , Valentina Simonetti  2
Affiliations

Digital Health Literacy in Patients With Hypertension: A Cross-Sectional Study

Melania Totaro et al. J Clin Nurs. .

Abstract

Aim: To assess Digital Health Literacy (DHL) levels among hypertensive patients.

Design: Cross-sectional study.

Methods: The study, conducted from March to August 2024 among hypertensive patients using convenience sampling, employed a 35-item questionnaire assessing: (I) sociodemographic; (II) physical activity, dietary habits, antihypertensive pharmacological treatment and medical history; (III) online health-related information knowledge and confidence; (IV) DHL, through the HLS19-DIGI questionnaire with subscales on: (i) dealing with digital health information (HL-DIGI), (ii) interaction with digital resources (HL-DIGI-INT), (iii) frequency of digital device use for health (HL-DIGI-DD).

Results: Among 311 participants (mean age 63.9 years, SD = 14.8), 42.1% completed high school, 25.4% held a bachelor's degree and 22.8% were physically inactive. While 49.8% were aware of online health-related information, 28.9% were uncertain and 47.6% lacked confidence in using it for health decisions. On average, participants showed a problematic level of DHL in HL-DIGI, a sufficient level in HL-DIGI-INT, and used digital health devices just over once a week. Older age emerged as a predictor of higher online health-related knowledge and DHL, while higher education level predicted higher knowledge, confidence and DHL. Physical inactivity was associated with lower online health-related information knowledge and confidence.

Conclusions: These findings point to the need to design proactive strategies and implement targeted training and educational interventions to improve DHL in hypertensive patients.

Implications for the profession and/or patient care: Enhancing DHL levels through targeted interventions in patient care allows patients to effectively benefit from digital healthcare, achieve positive health outcomes and reduce disparities in care pathways.

Reporting method: This study adhered to the STROBE checklist for reporting.

Patient or public contribution: Patients were involved as the study population.

Protocol registration: Local Ethical Committee of the University Hospital Company of the Marche Region, Italy (protocol: 2023/279, date: 28/09/2023).

Keywords: blood pressure; digital health literacy; digital technology; hypertension; nursing; patient education; telehealth.

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References

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