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The Use of eHealth Applications in Hong Kong: Results of a Random-Digit Dialing Survey

  • Mobile & Wireless Health
  • Published:
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Abstract

eHealth has become popular worldwide, and it is transforming health care. However, studies examining  the use of eHealth applications in the Chinese population are scarce. The study reports on the characteristics of eHealth applications in Hong Kong information and communication technology (ICT) users, their attitudes towards eHealth, and their reasons for not using eHealth applications. A cross-sectional random-digit dialing survey targeting adults using ICT was conducted in Hong Kong to elicit information on respondents’ use of and attitudes towards eHealth. A total of 495 ICT users completed the survey, of whom 353 (71.3%) were eHealth users. A smartphone was the most frequent way of performing eHealth activities (71.7%). The most prevalent eHealth activity was reading about health/illness (86.4%), with 93.5% indicating that eHealth applications improved their understanding of health care issues. People with less education were less likely to use eHealth applications. Non-eHealth users indicated that the main reasons for not using eHealth applications were lack of interest in health information (49.3%) and lack of confidence in the reliability of online information (45.1%). Quality monitoring of health information available on ICTs and tailoring the design and readability are recommended to meet the needs of those seeking health resources and to promote eHealth. Evidence from the study demonstrates the potential of eHealth to improve the dissemination of health information in Hong Kong, and it provides a basis for improving eHealth integration.

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank Policy 21 for data collection assistance and all participants who took part in the study.

Funding

This work was funded by the Small Project Funding, The University of Hong Kong.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Nursing, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong

    Denise Shuk Ting Cheung

  2. Department of Industrial and Manufacturing Systems Engineering, The University of Hong Kong, Room 8-7, 8/F, Haking Wong Building, Pokfulam, Hong Kong

    Calvin Kalun Or

  3. Department of Information Systems, Business Statistics and Operations Management, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Clear Water Bay, Hong Kong

    Mike Ka Pui So

  4. Department of Emergency Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

    Kendall Ho

  5. School of Nursing, Hong Kong Sanatorium & Hospital, Happy Valley, Hong Kong

    Agnes Tiwari

Authors
  1. Denise Shuk Ting Cheung
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  2. Calvin Kalun Or
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  3. Mike Ka Pui So
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  4. Kendall Ho
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  5. Agnes Tiwari
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Contributions

Conceptualisation and design of the study: DSTC, CKLO, MKPS, KH, AT. Data collection and analysis: DSTC, CKLO, MKPS. Preparation of the manuscript: DSTC, CKLO, MKPS, KH, AT. Reviewing of the manuscript: DSTC, CKLO, MKPS, KH, AT. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Calvin Kalun Or.

Ethics declarations

The study was conducted in accordance with the ethical standards of the Institutional Review Board of the University of Hong Kong/Hospital Authority Hong Kong West Cluster and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments. Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that there is no conflict of interest.

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Cheung, D.S.T., Or, C., So, M.K.P. et al. The Use of eHealth Applications in Hong Kong: Results of a Random-Digit Dialing Survey. J Med Syst 43, 293 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10916-019-1422-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10916-019-1422-2

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