Exploring the Relationship Between eHealth Literacy and Diabetes Knowledge, Self-Efficacy, and Self-Care Behaviors in Chinese Diabetic Patients: A Cross-Sectional Study.

Abstract

Background: The importance of online educational resources enhancing self-management among patients is underscored by the growing prevalence of diabetes. It is crucial to comprehend how patients with diabetes in China seek diabetes-related information and use mobile applications (apps) designed for diabetes management. Although the Knowledge-Attitude-Practice theory plays an integral role in diabetes management, in-depth studies on eHealth literacy (eHL) and Knowledge-Attitude-Practice in populations with diabetes remain scarce.

Purpose: This study was developed to provide insights into the online information-seeking behaviors of and diabetes apps used by individuals living with diabetes by exploring the relationships among eHL, diabetes knowledge, self-efficacy, and self-care behaviors.

Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted from November 2022 to June 2023 on 380 inpatients with diabetes at the Yantai Yuhuangding Hospital in Shandong Province. The participants voluntarily completed surveys covering sociodemographic characteristics, diabetes status, diabetes app usage, online diabetes information searching, eHL, diabetes knowledge, self-efficacy, and self-care behaviors. Structural equation modeling analyses were employed to assess model fitness and the interrelationships between latent constructs and observable variables.

Results: Of the 380 participants, 57.1% (217/380) reported actively seeking diabetes information online, whereas only 3.7% (14/380) had used diabetes apps. eHL was shown to have a direct effect on diabetes knowledge (β = 0.377, p < .001) but no direct impact on self-care behaviors (β = 0.017, p = .860). However, an indirect effect on self-care behaviors was observed via diabetes knowledge and self-efficacy.

Conclusions/implications for practice: The results of this study indicate that, despite widespread online information-seeking behavior, diabetes app utilization remains limited in China. Also, the findings indicate enhancing patients' eHL contributes to more comprehensive diabetes knowledge. Furthermore, eHL was shown to influence self-care behaviors via diabetes knowledge and self-efficacy. A self-managed intervention strategy should be developed to improve eHL that utilizes internet resources to improve patients' knowledge and self-efficacy and promote better self-care behaviors.