title: Predictors of High eHealth Literacy in Primary Lung Cancer Survivors.
abstract: Lung cancer survivors are likely to have low health literacy which is an independent risk factor for poorer health outcomes. The eHealth literacy in lung cancer survivors has not been reported. The purposes of this study were to determine self-perceived eHealth literacy levels in lung cancer survivors and to explore predictors of higher eHealth literacy. A cross-sectional study was conducted at the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre in Toronto, Canada. Survivors completed a survey that collected demographic, self-perceived eHealth literacy (using the eHealth Literacy Scale), and quality of life information. Tumor and treatment details were extracted from medical records. Demographic data was summarized using descriptive statistics and compared against those with high and low eHealth literacy using Fisher's exact test. Eighty-three survivors were enrolled over 7 months. Median age was 71 years (range 44-89); 41 survivors (49%) were male. Forty-six (55%) survivors had some college education or higher. Most had access to eResources (78%) via computer, Internet, or smartphone. Fifty-seven (69%) scored 5 or greater (7=excellent) on the overall health scale. Twenty-eight (33.7%) perceived themselves to have high eHealth literacy. There was no statistically significant correlation between eHealth literacy groups and age (p=1.00), gender (p=0.82), living situation (p=1.00), overall health (p=1.00), overall quality of life (QoL) (p=1.00), or histology (p=0.74). High eHealth literacy correlated with the level of education received (p=0.003) and access to eResources (p=0.004). The self-perceived eHealth literacy of lung cancer survivors is generally low.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiation Oncology, Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, 610 University Avenue 5th Floor, Toronto, ON, M5G 2M9, Canada.
authors.forename: Robin A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Milne
authors.affiliation: Lawrence S Bloomberg Faculty of Nursing, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.
authors.forename: Martine T E
authors.initials: MT
authors.lastname: Puts
authors.affiliation: Patient and Survivorship Education, Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, Toronto, ON, Canada.
authors.forename: Janet
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Papadakos
authors.affiliation: Department of Biostatistics, Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, Toronto, ON, Canada.
authors.forename: Lisa W
authors.initials: LW
authors.lastname: Le
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiation Oncology, Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, 610 University Avenue 5th Floor, Toronto, ON, M5G 2M9, Canada.
authors.forename: Victoria C
authors.initials: VC
authors.lastname: Milne
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiation Oncology, Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, 610 University Avenue 5th Floor, Toronto, ON, M5G 2M9, Canada.
authors.forename: Andrew J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Hope
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiation Oncology, Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, 610 University Avenue 5th Floor, Toronto, ON, M5G 2M9, Canada.
authors.forename: Pamela
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Catton
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiation Oncology, Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, 610 University Avenue 5th Floor, Toronto, ON, M5G 2M9, Canada. Meredith.Giuliani@rmp.uhn.on.ca.
authors.forename: Meredith E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Giuliani
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006266:Health Education / Q000379:methods*; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D057220:Health Literacy; D006801:Humans; D033181:Information Dissemination; D020407:Internet; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000517:prevention & control*; D011788:Quality of Life; D017741:Survivors; D017216:Telemedicine
keywords: Health literacy; Lung cancer; Patient education; Survivor; eHEALS; eHealth literacy