Research in Community and Public Health Nursing

Original Article

[English] Digital Health Literacy and Associated Factors Among Older Adults Living Alone in South Korea: A Cross-Sectional Study: Minhwa Hwang, Gahye Kim, Seonghyeon Lee, Yeon-Hwan Park; Res Community Public Health Nurs. 2024;35(4):389-400. Published online December 30, 2024; DOI: https://doi.org/10.12799/rcphn.2024.00766

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Purpose
This study aimed to examine the level of digital health literacy and identify factors associated with digital health literacy among older adults living alone in South Korea.
Methods
A cross-sectional study was conducted on 140 older adults aged 65 and above who live alone. Descriptive statistics and non-parametric methods were used to explore the relationship between digital health literacy and independent variables. A generalized linear model was used to identify factors associated with digital health literacy.
Results
Among 140 smartphone-owning older adults living alone, 52.1% were using the Internet via digital devices, and the participants’ average digital health literacy score was 6.64±7.46. Univariate analysis results showed significant differences in digital health literacy according to age, education level, and multimorbidity. The factors associated with digital health literacy were identified as gender (B=−0.36, p=.031), age (B=−0.06, p<.001), education level (B=0.12, p<.001), and sleep problems (B=−0.06, p=.006).
Conclusion
Despite widespread Internet and smartphone use, older adults living alone with chronic diseases showed low levels of digital health literacy, which were significantly associated with gender, age, education level, and sleep problems. Enhancing digital health literacy among vulnerable populations is crucial for the effective implementation of digital health services. Collaborative efforts, including tailored digital health interventions to enhance the digital health literacy of vulnerable populations and supportive policies, are essential to bridge the digital divide and promote health equity.

Citations

Citations to this article as recorded by

Explainable Machine Learning for Assessing Digital Health Literacy in Older Adults: Validation and Development of a Two-Stage Model Integrating Performance-Based and Self-Assessed Indicators
Choonghee Park, Jiyeon Park, Seora Kim, Ye Seul Bae, Jae-Heon Kang, Tae-Min Kim, Ji-Won Chun
JMIR Medical Informatics.2026; 14: e86171. CrossRef
Determinants of self-reported health literacy among older adults in South Korea: a cross-sectional study
Jieun Shin, Seunghui Baek
Frontiers in Public Health.2025;[Epub] CrossRef
Analysis of factors influencing digital literacy of rural elderly people-evidence from China
Zhaoting Zhang
BMC Public Health.2025;[Epub] CrossRef

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