Digital health applications and health literacy: an explorative analysis

Introduction. In 2020, Digital Health Applications (known as DiGA) have been introduced to the German healthcare system. DiGA are medical devices based on digital technologies that can be prescribed by physician and psychotherapists and reimbursed by health insurance companies. DiGA must demonstrate...

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Main Authors: Aylin Imeri, Sabrina Schorr, Sebastian Merkel
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: University of Borås 2024-06-01
Series:Information Research: An International Electronic Journal
Subjects:
Online Access:https://informationr.net/infres/article/view/833
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author Aylin Imeri
Sabrina Schorr
Sebastian Merkel
author_facet Aylin Imeri
Sabrina Schorr
Sebastian Merkel
author_sort Aylin Imeri
collection DOAJ
description Introduction. In 2020, Digital Health Applications (known as DiGA) have been introduced to the German healthcare system. DiGA are medical devices based on digital technologies that can be prescribed by physician and psychotherapists and reimbursed by health insurance companies. DiGA must demonstrate a positive healthcare effect, e.g. by improving of health literacy. Health literacy as a concept has received increasing attention in recent years but has also been subject to a vivid debate on its theoretical underpinning and methodological challenges. Method & Analysis. For this study, all 53 DiGA listed in the official registry were reviewed. We searched the DiGA registry to answer the following research question: do DiGA measure health literacy and which health literacy measurement instruments are applied? Results. Of the 53 DiGA listed, 29 are permanently and 24 provisionally listed in the DiGA directory. Although seven DiGA use health literacy measurement tools, the theoretical or conceptual explanation of these tools and the decision to use them is lacking. Conclusion. This paper argues that there is a need to empirically investigate the motivation of DiGA developers, taking into account the use and non-use of health literacy measurement tools.
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spelling doaj-art-878f55157cf546ffa4888e9c6d019be42025-02-03T10:10:34ZengUniversity of BoråsInformation Research: An International Electronic Journal1368-16132024-06-0129237838510.47989/ir292833830Digital health applications and health literacy: an explorative analysisAylin Imeri0Sabrina Schorr1Sebastian Merkel2Ruhr UniversityRuhr UniversityRuhr UniversityIntroduction. In 2020, Digital Health Applications (known as DiGA) have been introduced to the German healthcare system. DiGA are medical devices based on digital technologies that can be prescribed by physician and psychotherapists and reimbursed by health insurance companies. DiGA must demonstrate a positive healthcare effect, e.g. by improving of health literacy. Health literacy as a concept has received increasing attention in recent years but has also been subject to a vivid debate on its theoretical underpinning and methodological challenges. Method & Analysis. For this study, all 53 DiGA listed in the official registry were reviewed. We searched the DiGA registry to answer the following research question: do DiGA measure health literacy and which health literacy measurement instruments are applied? Results. Of the 53 DiGA listed, 29 are permanently and 24 provisionally listed in the DiGA directory. Although seven DiGA use health literacy measurement tools, the theoretical or conceptual explanation of these tools and the decision to use them is lacking. Conclusion. This paper argues that there is a need to empirically investigate the motivation of DiGA developers, taking into account the use and non-use of health literacy measurement tools.https://informationr.net/infres/article/view/833health literacydigadigital health applicationexploratory study
spellingShingle Aylin Imeri
Sabrina Schorr
Sebastian Merkel
Digital health applications and health literacy: an explorative analysis
Information Research: An International Electronic Journal
health literacy
diga
digital health application
exploratory study
title Digital health applications and health literacy: an explorative analysis
title_full Digital health applications and health literacy: an explorative analysis
title_fullStr Digital health applications and health literacy: an explorative analysis
title_full_unstemmed Digital health applications and health literacy: an explorative analysis
title_short Digital health applications and health literacy: an explorative analysis
title_sort digital health applications and health literacy an explorative analysis
topic health literacy
diga
digital health application
exploratory study
url https://informationr.net/infres/article/view/833
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