Self-Efficacy, Internet Self-Efficacy, and Proxy Efficacy as Predictors of the Use of Digital Social and Health Care Services Among Mental Health Service Users in Finland: A Cross-Sectional Study

Figures & data

Table 1 Demographic Characteristics, Internet Access, Services, and Usage Among the Study Participants

Variable	Value
Age (years), mean (SD), n = 107	43.9	(12.6)
Gender, n (%)
Male	45	(37.5)
Female	76	(62.5)
Relationship status, n (%)
Married/in a relationship	32	(26.4)
Single/unmarried	89	(73.6)
Educational level, n (%)
Secondary education	86	(75.4)
No secondary education	28	(24.6)
Internet usage, n (%)
Every day or almost every day	109	(90.1)
Weekly, monthly, or several times a year	9	(7.4)
Once a year or never	3	(2.5)
Places to access Internet, n (%)
Home	114	(93.4)
Family, friends, and neighbors	71	(58.2)
Public places	63	(51.6)
NGOs, parish	32	(26.2)
Social and health care services and institutions	31	(25.4)
No access	1	(0.8)
Mobile and fixed Internet products, n (%)
Smartphone	106	(86.9)
Personal computer	90	(73.8)
Cable or NBN fixed broadband connection	76	(62.3)
Tablet computer	41	(33.6)
Shared family computer	17	(13.9)
No Internet product	3	(2.5)
e-Identification methods, n (%)
Online bank IDs	108	(88.5)
Mobile IDs	48	(39.3)
None	1	(0.8)
Health and social services used within past year, n (%)
Social Insurance Institution services	105	(86.1)
Health care services	96	(78.7)
Mental health services	60	(49.2)
Municipal social welfare services	49	(40.2)
Substance abuse services	9	(7.4)
Family and social services	7	(5.7)

Table 2 Assistance Received for Using Digital Services

Variable	n	(%)
Family members	70	57.9
Friends, acquaintances, or relatives	57	47.1
No one — I solved the problem myself.	45	37.2
Social and health care professional	20	16.5
Digital support point in library	11	9.1
Organization (NGO)/ church employee or volunteer	11	9.1
I did not get any help, and I was not able to use the service.	11	9.1
City or municipal service point	8	6.6

Table 3 Construct Variables and Their Means, SDs, and Reliabilities

Variable	Items	N	Mean	SD	Cronbach α
Intention to use digital services	5	119	3.20	1.03	0.83
Proxy efficacy	8	118	3.61	0.76	0.77
Self-efficacy	10	114	2.79	0.61	0.92
Internet self-efficacy	8	116	3.67	1.04	0.94

Table 4 Correlations Among Main Variables

Variable		1	2	3
1. Intention to use digital services	r	–^a	–	–
	p value	–	–	–
	N	–	–	–
2. Self-efficacy	r	0.05	–	–
	p value	0.58	–	–
	N	113	–	–
3. Internet self-efficacy	r	0.54	0.28	–
	p value	<0.001	0.003	–
	N	115	111	–
4. Proxy efficacy	r	0.49	0.09	0.28
	p value	<0.001	0.33	0.003
	N	117	114	114

Note: ^aNot applicable.

Table 5 Linear Regression Analysis (Dependent Variable: Intention to Use Digital Services)

Model 1^a
Independent Variable	β	SE	Beta	t	p value	VIF
(constant)	–0.29	0.76		–0.38	0.71
Self-efficacy	–0.14	0.14	–0.09	–0.96	0.34	1.09
Internet self-efficacy	0.47	0.12	0.43	3.94	<0.001	1.63
Proxy efficacy	0.45	0.12	0.35	3.77	<0.001	1.18
Age	0.01	0.01	0.07	0.67	0.50	1.38
Gender^†	0.17	0.18	0.08	0.96	0.34	1.07
Relationship status^†	0.12	0.20	0.05	0.60	0.55	1.05
Education^†	0.23	0.21	0.09	1.07	0.29	1.07
Model 2^b
Independent Variable	β	SE	Beta	t	p value	VIF
(constant)	0.04	0.40		0.10	0.92
Internet self-efficacy	0.40	0.08	0.40	5.02	<0.001	1.10
Proxy efficacy	0.48	0.10	0.37	4.72	<0.001	1.10

Notes: ^aR² = 0.385, Adjusted R² = 0.334, F = 7.6; p < 0.001; N = 93.

^bR² = 0.382, Adjusted R² = 0.371, F = 34.1; p < 0.001; N = 113. ^†Dummy.

Table 6 The Distributions of Responses Regarding Behavioral Intentions

Statements	N	I Totally Disagree (%)	I Partially Disagree (%)	I Neither Agree nor Disagree (%)	I Partially Agree (%)	I Totally Agree (%)
I will use digital social and health services whenever possible in the future.	121	8.2	9	13.1	33.6	35.2
I am likely to primarily deal with social and health services in electronic form in the future.	120	11.5	9	21.3	30.3	26.2
I want to manage matters related to my social welfare benefits via the Internet in the future.	121	13.1	5.7	17.2	27	36.1
I would like to primarily take care of my health-related issues via the Internet in the future.	121	27	15.6	22.1	23.8	10.7
When I need to talk to a professional (social worker, doctor, nurse, etc.) in the future, if possible, I will prefer to meet remotely rather than face-to-face.	120	41.8	18	15.6	13.1	9.8