Internet use and eHealth literacy among health-care professionals in a resource limited setting: a cross-sectional survey

Figures & data

Table 1 Participants’ sociodemographic characteristics

	n	%		n	%
Sex			Profession
Male	133	46.3%	Medical doctor	19	6.6%
Female	154	53.7%	Nurse	88	30.7%
Age, years			Health officer	9	3.1%
21–29	171	59.6%	Lab technician	50	17.4%
30–39	94	32.8%	Midwife	64	22.3%
>39	22	7.7%	Pharmacist	57	19.9
Education			Years of experience
Diploma (certificate)	55	19.2%	<5	167	58.2%
Degree (BSc)	220	76.7%	5–10	86	30.0%
Master's (MPH/MSc)	12	4.2%	>10	34	11.8%
			Salary (ETB)
			1,500–3,500	54	18.8%
			3,500–5,500	203	70.7%
			>5,500	30	10.5%

Table 2 Internet access and use

Questions		n	%
Do you have Internet access?	Yes	287	100
	No	—	—
If yes, select the type of connection	DSL/cable	78	27.2
	Wi-fi	155	54.0
	Mobile data	54	18.8
If you have Internet access, where do you have it?	Office	120	41.8
	Cafés/hotels	28	9.8
	Campus lab/wi-fi	100	34.8
	Home	39	13.6
If you use the Internet, how frequently do you use it?	Daily	67	23.3
	Several days a week	121	42.2
	Weekly	61	21.3
	<One day a week	38	13.2
By what means do you access the Internet?	Smartphone	119	41.5
	Laptop	113	39.4
	Tablet	14	4.9
	Desktop	41	14.3
Do you use the Internet regularly for medical/professional updates?	Yes	136	47.4
	No	151	52.6
Does information from websites influence your decision-making?	Yes	173	60.3
	No	114	39.7
Have you ever advised a website for a patient?	Yes	7	2.4
	No	280	97.6
Has a patient ever asked for the name of a website for more information on their condition?	Yes	—	—
	No	287	100
If yes, have you ever recommended any?	Yes	—	—
	No	—	—
Do you trust the general quality of medical websites?	Yes	96	33.4
	No	191	66.6

Table 3 eHealth literacy–response frequency and percentage

	High eHealth literacy (%)	Low eHealth literacy (%)
Sex
Male	95 (33.1%)	38 (13.2%)
Female	104 (36.2%)	50 (17.4%)
Age, years
21–29	127 (44.3%)	44 (15.3%)
30–39	62 (21.6%)	32 (11.1%)
>39	10 (3.5%)	12 (4.2%)
Educational status
Diploma	31 (10.8%)	24 (8.4%)
Degree	159 (55.4%)	61 (21.3%)
Master's	9 (3.1%)	3 (1.0%)
Profession
Medical doctor	19 (6.6%)	—
Nurse	65 (22.6%)	23 (8.0%)
Health officer	9 (3.1%)	—
Medical lab technician	35 (12.2%)	13 (4.5%)
Pharmacist	35 (12.2%)	22 (7.7%)
Midwife	36 (12.4%)	28 (9.8%)
Years of experience
<5	128 (44.6%)	39 (13.6%)
5–10	56 (19.5%)	30 (10.4%)
>10	15 (5.2%)	19 (6.6%)
Salary (ETB)
1,500–3,500	31 (10.8%)	23 (8.0%)
3,500–5,500	141 (49.1%)	62 (21.6%)
>5,500	27 (9.4%)	3 (1.0%)

Table 4 Multivariable logistic regression for eHealth literacy

Independent variables	Dependent variables(eHealth literacy)
	Coefficient estimate	Lower confidence level	Upper confidence level	P-value
Age, years
21–29	1.182	1.320	8.058	0.010*
30–39	0.844	0.907	5.960	0.079
Sex
Male	0.243	0.771	2.108	0.345
Education
Degree	0.657	1.051	3.543	0.034*
Master's	0.843	0.566	9.524	0.242
Profession
Physician	1.889	1.409	31.029	0.017*
Nurse	0.788	1.107	4.363	0.024*
Health officer	0.820	1.368	6.025	0.084
Medical lab technician	0.596	0.831	3.962	0.135
Pharmacist	0.213	0.598	2.560	0.566
Salary (ETB)
3,500–5,500	0.523	0.911	3.126	0.096
>5,500	1.311	0.166	1.243	0.020*
Years of experience
<5	1.392	1.872	8.639	0.000*
5–10	0.810	1.002	5.039	0.049*

Notes: Reference groups: age (>39 years), sex (female), education (diploma), profession (midwife), salary (ETB1,500–3,500), years of experience (>10). *P<0.05).