DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY USE IN TURKEY AND THE NEED FOR NEW eHEALTH LITERACY MEASUREMENT TOOLS

Abstract

Aim of the study: Digital health technologies, which cause the reshaping of today's patient-health relationship have been reflected in every field of health services. In a setting where the patient-health relationship is so dependent on the use of digital tools and the internet, it has become one of the most important elements for the development of their health for users to have the necessary digital skills and eliminate false and unnecessary information and data and acquire their health needs. Thus measuring the digital health literacy of consumers became a necessity. The aim of this study is to clarify the need for developing or adopting new digital health literacy measurement tools in Turkey. Materials and Methods: For the purpose to reveal the state of digital health literacy in Turkey the reports announced by different international and national institutes were searched in this descriptive research. The prevalence of the use of social media, the increase in the number of internet users and mobile devices in recent years, individuals’ reasons for using the internet, and the ratio of searching health issues in this data were compiled. Additionally, the digital/eHealth literacy scales developed or adopted in Turkish by researchers were searched from databases. Results: The results showed that the adaptation of Turkey and its people to e-health is very high and Turkish people take the lead the way in terms of accessing health-related information, integrating with the health system, and using health-related applications. So the need for digital health literacy scales and their potential use in Turkey was reported in this study. According to the results of the study only one measurement tool, developed by Norman and Skinner (2006) was adopted in Turkish and used by Turkish researchers. This study mostly used ten digital/eHealth literacy instruments were introduced and the gap in this area was argued. Although there are many digital/eHealth literacy scales adopted in various countries, in Turkey researchers stay behind in that situation. The need for developing or adopting new digital/eHealth literacy scales is obvious.