The national determinants of digital health: Health professionals’ electronic health literacy from a cross-sectional perspective in Ethiopia: An umbrella review

Background Electronic health literacy is an emerging skill that needs to be focused on by the health system. Adopting and utilizing digital/electronic health tools helps healthcare providers with evidence-based decision-making during patient care. Therefore, pooling robust evidence could help determ...

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Main Authors: Mulugeta Desalegn Kasaye, Amare Gebrie Getahun, Asressie Molla Tessema, Nega Yimer, Mulugeta Hayelom Kalayou, Anas Ali Alhur
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: SAGE Publishing 2025-07-01
Series:Digital Health
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1177/20552076251362396
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author Mulugeta Desalegn Kasaye
Amare Gebrie Getahun
Asressie Molla Tessema
Nega Yimer
Mulugeta Hayelom Kalayou
Anas Ali Alhur
author_facet Mulugeta Desalegn Kasaye
Amare Gebrie Getahun
Asressie Molla Tessema
Nega Yimer
Mulugeta Hayelom Kalayou
Anas Ali Alhur
author_sort Mulugeta Desalegn Kasaye
collection DOAJ
description Background Electronic health literacy is an emerging skill that needs to be focused on by the health system. Adopting and utilizing digital/electronic health tools helps healthcare providers with evidence-based decision-making during patient care. Therefore, pooling robust evidence could help determine the magnitude of health professionals’ level of electronic health literacy. Methods We used PubMed, Science Direct, EMBASE, African Journal Online, Google Scholar, and HINARI to search for systematic review studies. The study procedure was performed using the PRISMA flow diagram. We employed the revised version of the Assessment of Multiple Systematic Reviews (AMSTAR-2) checklist to score the quality of the included studies. The pooled effect size of the outcome variable was determined via a forest plot. Results Generally, three systematic review studies addressing 16 primary studies were included. Nearly 6435 study participants with an outcome of interest were included in this umbrella review. The overall pooled magnitude of good e-health literacy among health professionals was 55% (95% CI: 50, 60; I 2  = 94.4%). The average pooled effect-size of good eHealth literacy was positively associated with perceived usefulness, educational status, favorable attitudes, internet access, and perceived ease of use, 2.29 (95% CI: 1.82, 2.76), I 2  = 0.0, P  = 0.990. Conclusions A moderate level of eHealth literacy was discovered. It is mandatory to improve healthcare professionals’ internet access, as they are the first front-line information users in their duty of care. It is desirable to design programs and policies to strengthen national eHealth literacy by providing pertinent digital skill booster training regarding electronic health tools, enhancing the positive attitudes of health professionals toward easing and using digital tools to help patients access the most up-to-date information across the area of care. Furthermore, building mechanisms to gain and increase the knowledge of health professionals is a mandatory task for every sector of the health system.
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spelling doaj-art-04b0e9cfc203432bb8e504039284a9962025-08-20T03:51:19ZengSAGE PublishingDigital Health2055-20762025-07-011110.1177/20552076251362396The national determinants of digital health: Health professionals’ electronic health literacy from a cross-sectional perspective in Ethiopia: An umbrella reviewMulugeta Desalegn Kasaye0Amare Gebrie Getahun1Asressie Molla Tessema2Nega Yimer3Mulugeta Hayelom Kalayou4Anas Ali Alhur5 Department of Health Informatics, School of Public Health, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, , Dessie, Ethiopia Department of Medicine, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Gondar, Gondar, Ethiopia Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, , Dessie, Ethiopia Department of Nursing, College of Medicine and Health Science, , Northern, Ethiopia Department of Health Informatics, School of Public Health, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, , Dessie, Ethiopia Department of Health Informatics, College of Public Health and Health Informatics, , Hail, Saudi ArabiaBackground Electronic health literacy is an emerging skill that needs to be focused on by the health system. Adopting and utilizing digital/electronic health tools helps healthcare providers with evidence-based decision-making during patient care. Therefore, pooling robust evidence could help determine the magnitude of health professionals’ level of electronic health literacy. Methods We used PubMed, Science Direct, EMBASE, African Journal Online, Google Scholar, and HINARI to search for systematic review studies. The study procedure was performed using the PRISMA flow diagram. We employed the revised version of the Assessment of Multiple Systematic Reviews (AMSTAR-2) checklist to score the quality of the included studies. The pooled effect size of the outcome variable was determined via a forest plot. Results Generally, three systematic review studies addressing 16 primary studies were included. Nearly 6435 study participants with an outcome of interest were included in this umbrella review. The overall pooled magnitude of good e-health literacy among health professionals was 55% (95% CI: 50, 60; I 2  = 94.4%). The average pooled effect-size of good eHealth literacy was positively associated with perceived usefulness, educational status, favorable attitudes, internet access, and perceived ease of use, 2.29 (95% CI: 1.82, 2.76), I 2  = 0.0, P  = 0.990. Conclusions A moderate level of eHealth literacy was discovered. It is mandatory to improve healthcare professionals’ internet access, as they are the first front-line information users in their duty of care. It is desirable to design programs and policies to strengthen national eHealth literacy by providing pertinent digital skill booster training regarding electronic health tools, enhancing the positive attitudes of health professionals toward easing and using digital tools to help patients access the most up-to-date information across the area of care. Furthermore, building mechanisms to gain and increase the knowledge of health professionals is a mandatory task for every sector of the health system.https://doi.org/10.1177/20552076251362396
spellingShingle Mulugeta Desalegn Kasaye
Amare Gebrie Getahun
Asressie Molla Tessema
Nega Yimer
Mulugeta Hayelom Kalayou
Anas Ali Alhur
The national determinants of digital health: Health professionals’ electronic health literacy from a cross-sectional perspective in Ethiopia: An umbrella review
Digital Health
title The national determinants of digital health: Health professionals’ electronic health literacy from a cross-sectional perspective in Ethiopia: An umbrella review
title_full The national determinants of digital health: Health professionals’ electronic health literacy from a cross-sectional perspective in Ethiopia: An umbrella review
title_fullStr The national determinants of digital health: Health professionals’ electronic health literacy from a cross-sectional perspective in Ethiopia: An umbrella review
title_full_unstemmed The national determinants of digital health: Health professionals’ electronic health literacy from a cross-sectional perspective in Ethiopia: An umbrella review
title_short The national determinants of digital health: Health professionals’ electronic health literacy from a cross-sectional perspective in Ethiopia: An umbrella review
title_sort national determinants of digital health health professionals electronic health literacy from a cross sectional perspective in ethiopia an umbrella review
url https://doi.org/10.1177/20552076251362396
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