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Disability digital divide: survey of accessibility of eHealth services as perceived by people with and without impairment
Uppsala Univ, Ctr Clin Res Dalarna, Nissers Vag 3, SE-79182 Falun, Sweden.;Uppsala Univ, Dept Publ Hlth & Caring Sci, Box 564, SE-75122 Uppsala, Sweden.;Mora Hosp, Primary Healthcare Ctr Mora, SE-79285 Mora, Sweden..ORCID iD: 0000-0003-1730-3131
KTH, School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (EECS), Human Centered Technology, Media Technology and Interaction Design, MID.ORCID iD: 0000-0002-7975-6198
Uppsala Univ, Dept Publ Hlth & Caring Sci, Box 564, SE-75122 Uppsala, Sweden..ORCID iD: 0000-0002-2068-4708
Uppsala Univ, Ctr Clin Res Dalarna, Nissers Vag 3, SE-79182 Falun, Sweden.;Uppsala Univ, Dept Publ Hlth & Caring Sci, Box 564, SE-75122 Uppsala, Sweden.;Dalarna Univ, Sch Hlth & Welf, SE-79188 Falun, Sweden..ORCID iD: 0000-0002-8709-4446
2023 (English)In: BMC Public Health, E-ISSN 1471-2458, Vol. 23, no 1, article id 181Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

BackgroundSustainable and effective eHealth requires accessibility for everyone. Little is known about how accessibility of eHealth is perceived among people with various impairments. The aim of this study was to compare use and perceived difficulty in the use of eHealth among people with and without impairment, and how different types of impairment were associated with perceived difficulty in the use of eHealth.MethodsThis study used data collected in a nationwide survey in Sweden. Snowball sampling was used to recruit participants with self-reported impairment, from June to October 2019. In February 2020, the survey was posted to people in the general population who were matched to the participants with impairment by age, gender and county of residence. Multiple logistic regression was used to analyse the use of four eHealth services, and perceived difficulty in the use of six eHealth services.ResultsIn total, 1631 participants with, and 1084 participants without impairment responded to the survey. Participants with impairment reported less use and more difficulty in the use of all eHealth services as compared to participants without impairment. When comparing types of impairment, booking healthcare appointments online was least used and most avoided by participants with communication, language and calculation impairments (adjusted odds ratio (aOR) use 0.64, 95% confidence interval (95%CI) 0.49-0.83; aOR avoid 1.64, 95%CI 1.19-2.27), and intellectual impairments (aOR use 0.28, 95%CI 0.20-0.39; aOR avoid 2.88, 95%CI 1.86-4.45). The Swedish national web-portal for health information and services, 1177.se, was reported difficult to use the most among participants with communication, language and calculation impairments (aOR 2.24, 95%CI 1.50-3.36), deaf-blindness (aOR 11.24, 95%CI 3.49-36.23) and hearing impairment (aOR 2.50, 95%CI 1.17-5.35).ConclusionsThe results confirm the existence of an eHealth disability digital divide. People with impairment were not one homogeneous group, but differed in perceived difficulties in regard to eHealth. Based on a purposeful subgrouping of impairments, we showed that people with communication, language and calculation impairments, and intellectual impairments, reported least use and most difficulty in using eHealth. The findings can guide further research in creating eHealth that is accessible for all, including those with the most significant difficulties.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Springer Nature , 2023. Vol. 23, no 1, article id 181
Keywords [en]
eHealth, Impairment, Accessibility, Digital Inclusion, Universal design
National Category
Public Health, Global Health and Social Medicine
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:kth:diva-324908DOI: 10.1186/s12889-023-15094-zISI: 000923139000008PubMedID: 36707791Scopus ID: 2-s2.0-85146939395OAI: oai:DiVA.org:kth-324908DiVA, id: diva2:1744825
Note

QC 20230321

Available from: 2023-03-21 Created: 2023-03-21 Last updated: 2025-02-20Bibliographically approved

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Johansson, Stefan

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