The following is a summary of “Moderating role of e-health literacy and patient-physician communication in the relationship between online diabetes information-seeking behavior and self-care practices among individuals with type 2 diabetes,” published in the December 2024 issue of Primary Care by Peimani et al.
Researchers conducted a retrospective study to explore how e-health literacy (eHL) and patient-physician communication influence the link between online diabetes information-seeking behavior (online DISB) and self-care.
They conducted a cross-sectional survey with 1,143 individuals with type 2 diabetes mellitus, assessing sociodemographic characteristics, diabetes clinical history, online DISB, eHL (eHealth Literacy Scale), patient-physician communication (IPC survey), self-care (Self-Care Inventory-Revised), and medication adherence. Data were analyzed using bivariate (correlation) and multivariate (multiple linear regression) analyses with maximum likelihood estimation in Mplus.
The results showed online DISB significantly predicted diabetes self-care (P < 0.001) and medication adherence (P = 0.005). Lower Hurried Communication (P < 0.001, P = 0.03), higher Elicited Concerns (P = 0.005, P = 0.03), higher Explained Results (P = 0.03, P = 0.008), and higher eHL (P = 0.02, P = 0.02) were linked to improved self-care and medication adherence.
Investigators confirmed that patient eHL and communication enhanced the positive impact of online DISB on self-care and medication adherence.
Source: bmcprimcare.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12875-024-02695-9
