ArticleJournal of medical Internet research2022
The Digital Divide and Seeking Health Information on Smartphones in Asia: Survey Study of Ten Countries.
Article in Journal of medical Internet research, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 14 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
14 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Effectiveness of mobile technology and utilization of maternal and neonatal healthcare in low and middle-income countries (LMICs): a systematic review.BMC women's health · 2023Pooled it
- Pandemic-Associated Shifts and Spatial Inequality in Public Attention to Pulmonary Function Testing in China: A 14-Year Baidu Index Study.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Profile of migraine patients in Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region: a multi-center study.The journal of headache and pain · 2026Article
- Assessing quality and reliability of online videos on peritoneal dialysis: a Douyin video-based study.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- From awareness to action: exploring health information seeking behavior in coronary heart disease patients: a cross-sectional study.Frontiers in public health · 2026Article
- Article
- Real-World Outcomes of a Digital Behavioral Coaching Intervention to Improve Employee Health Status: Retrospective Observational Study.JMIR mHealth and uHealth · 2024Observational
- Use of Smart Glasses (Assisted Reality) for Western Australian X-ray Operators' Continuing Professional Development: A Pilot Study.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Article
- The emerging role of digital health in the management of asthma.Therapeutic advances in chronic disease · 2023Review
- How users make judgements about the quality of online health information: a cross-sectional survey study.BMC public health · 2022Article
- Addressing the Social Determinants of Health in South Korea: Moderating Role of mHealth Technologies.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Article
- Frequency of Online Health Information Seeking and Types of Information Sought Among the General Chinese Population: Cross-sectional Study.Journal of medical Internet research · 2021Article
- Article
- Sociodemographic factors and health digital divide among urban residents: Evidence from a population-based survey in China.Digital healthArticle
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
3 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundAlthough recent developments in mobile health have elevated the importance of how smartphones empower individuals to seek health information, research investigating this phenomenon in Asian countries has been rare.
objectiveThe goal of our study was to provide a comprehensive profile of mobile health information seekers and to examine the individual- and country-level digital divide in Asia.
methodsWith survey data from 10 Asian countries (N=9086), we ran multilevel regression models to assess the effect of sociodemographic factors, technological factors, and country-level disparities on using smartphones to seek health information.
resultsRespondents who were women (β=.13, P<.001), parents (β=.16, P<.001), employed (β=.08, P=.002), of higher social status (β=.08, P<.001), and/or from countries with low health expenditures (β=.19, P=.02) were more likely to use smartphones to seek health information. In terms of technological factors, technology innovativeness (β=.10, P<.001) and frequency of smartphone use (β=.42, P<.001) were important factors of health information seeking, whereas the effect of online information quality was marginal (β=-.04, P<.001).
conclusionsAmong smartphone users in Asia, health information seeking varies according to individuals' socioeconomic status, their innovativeness toward technology, and their frequency of smartphone use. Although smartphones widen the digital divide among individuals with different socioeconomic status, they also bridge the divide between countries with varying health expenditures. Smartphones appear to be a particularly useful complement to manage health in developing countries.
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