ArticleJournal of medical Internet research2026
The Relationship Between Electronic Health Literacy and Health-Related Quality of Life Among Chinese Older Adults: Cross-Sectional Study.
Article in Journal of medical Internet research, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Background: The rapid digitalization of health care has reshaped access to medical services. However, older adults often remain disadvantaged due to the digital divide. Electronic health literacy (EHL) is increasingly recognized as a determinant of health-related quality of life (HRQoL); however, its mechanisms and subgroup differences in China remain underexplored. Objective: This study aimed to examine the association between EHL and multidimensional HRQoL among Chinese older adults, with a focus on the mediating roles of attitudes toward own aging (ATOA) and self-efficacy (SE), and heterogeneity by age, residence, and lifestyle. Methods: A cross-sectional survey (July-November 2024) included 8364 adults aged ≥55 years from 4 provinces using stratified multistage sampling. HRQoL was measured by physical health (PH), mental health (MH), and life satisfaction (LS). EHL was assessed with the eHealth Literacy Scale (eHEALS), ATOA with the Philadelphia Geriatric Center Morale Scale subscale, and SE with the General Self-Efficacy Scale. Analyses used seemingly unrelated regressions, PROCESS (Andrew F. Hayes) macro mediation with 5000 bootstraps, and subgroup regressions. Results: EHL was positively associated with PH (β=0.273; P<.001), MH (β=0.190; P<.001), and LS (β=0.082; P<.001). ATOA and SE significantly mediated these associations (all P<.001). For PH, the association was partially mediated by ATOA and SE. The total effect was 0.273 (P<.001), with indirect effects accounting for 52.7% of the total. For MH, inconsistent mediation was observed. The direct effect was negative (β=-0.069; P<.01), but indirect effects were positive, yielding a positive total effect. For LS, the effect was fully mediated by ATOA and SE. Subgroup analyses showed stronger effects in the younger-old adults (PH: β=0.288, MH: β=0.188, LS: β=0.089; all P<.001), urban residents (PH: β=0.237, MH: β=0.214, LS: β=0.083; all P<.001), and nonexercisers (PH: β=0.322; P<.001). Conclusions: EHL is strongly associated with HRQoL among Chinese older adults. Its effects on MH and LS operate primarily through psychosocial pathways, while PH benefits directly. The findings highlight EHL's compensatory role, particularly for the younger-old group, rural residents, and nonexercisers, underscoring its importance in digital inclusion and healthy aging policies.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.