Page 99 - Petelin, Ana. 2021. Ed. Zdravje starostnikov / Health of the Elderly. Proceedings. Koper: University of Primorska Press.
P. 99
https://doi.org/10.26493/978-961-293-129-2.97-104
Is the ICT use for health purposes
in Slovenia linked to better health?
Andrej Kirbiš
University of Maribor, Faculty of Arts, Maribor, Slovenia
andrej.kirbis@um.si
Abstract
Introduction: In recent years, the use of ICT for health purposes has
become increasingly common and popular among the residents of
developed societies, including the elderly. The development of ICT in
health and health care can contribute to disease prevention and control
for those who need health information and services the most – the
elderly and those with poor health. For this reason, it is vital to examine
whether the search for information using ICT technology is associated
with better health. Methods: In our study, we were interested in: 1) the
frequency of searching for information with ICT; 2) the link between
ICT seeking health information and health status; 3) the moderating
role of age for the link between the frequency of searching for health
information and the health status of the individual, and 4) whether
the search for health information is related to the health status after
controlling the sociodemographic determinants of ICT use. We used
a representative national sample of the adult population of Slovenia
from 2018 (N = 1047). We performed descriptive and multivariate
analyses. Results: We found that in Slovenia, 1) the majority of the
population uses ICT to obtain health information; 2) those with poorer
health most often use ICT for health purposes; 3) age impacts the link
between information seeking and health status; and 4) when controlled
for sociodemographic determinants in the multivariate model, health
status proved not to be statistically significantly associated with ICT use
for health purposes. Discussion and conclusions: ICT can potentially
improve the Slovenian population’s health and access to health services.
At the same time, we emphasise that better health can also enable easier
and more efficient access, search and use of ICT health information.
Further research is needed to examine whether there is a causal effect
of ICT search and use of health information on health outcomes. It is
also crucial that future studies examine whether the health effects are
Is the ICT use for health purposes
in Slovenia linked to better health?
Andrej Kirbiš
University of Maribor, Faculty of Arts, Maribor, Slovenia
andrej.kirbis@um.si
Abstract
Introduction: In recent years, the use of ICT for health purposes has
become increasingly common and popular among the residents of
developed societies, including the elderly. The development of ICT in
health and health care can contribute to disease prevention and control
for those who need health information and services the most – the
elderly and those with poor health. For this reason, it is vital to examine
whether the search for information using ICT technology is associated
with better health. Methods: In our study, we were interested in: 1) the
frequency of searching for information with ICT; 2) the link between
ICT seeking health information and health status; 3) the moderating
role of age for the link between the frequency of searching for health
information and the health status of the individual, and 4) whether
the search for health information is related to the health status after
controlling the sociodemographic determinants of ICT use. We used
a representative national sample of the adult population of Slovenia
from 2018 (N = 1047). We performed descriptive and multivariate
analyses. Results: We found that in Slovenia, 1) the majority of the
population uses ICT to obtain health information; 2) those with poorer
health most often use ICT for health purposes; 3) age impacts the link
between information seeking and health status; and 4) when controlled
for sociodemographic determinants in the multivariate model, health
status proved not to be statistically significantly associated with ICT use
for health purposes. Discussion and conclusions: ICT can potentially
improve the Slovenian population’s health and access to health services.
At the same time, we emphasise that better health can also enable easier
and more efficient access, search and use of ICT health information.
Further research is needed to examine whether there is a causal effect
of ICT search and use of health information on health outcomes. It is
also crucial that future studies examine whether the health effects are
