What is the clinical evidence from this study?

Study design: Cohort. Population: Heart failure (n=219). Intervention: Daily digital device use vs. No use. Primary outcome: High eHealth literacy (eHEALS score ≥26) (OR 13.01, 95% CI 3.38-50.08, p=<0.001).

What question did this study set out to answer?

This research aims to explore how daily digital device use impacts eHealth literacy in older adults facing heart failure.

March 19, 2026Open Access

Daily Digital Device Use and eHealth Literacy Among Hospitalized Older Adults With Heart Failure　― A Multicenter Cohort Study ―

Q: What are the key findings of this study?

Daily digital device use of more than 1 hour per day was significantly associated with high eHealth literacy (OR 13.01) among older adults hospitalized for heart failure.

Q: What question did this study set out to answer?

This research aims to explore how daily digital device use impacts eHealth literacy in older adults facing heart failure.

Key Result

Daily digital device use of more than 1 hour per day was significantly associated with high eHealth literacy (OR 13.01) among older adults hospitalized for heart failure.

Key Points

This research aims to explore how daily digital device use impacts eHealth literacy in older adults facing heart failure.
Conducted a multicenter cohort study focusing on hospitalized older adults with heart failure.
Evaluated daily digital device usage among participants.
Assessed eHealth literacy using established metrics.
A significant association was found between higher daily digital device use and improved eHealth literacy.
Older adults who frequently use digital devices showed better skills in managing their health information.

Study Design

Type

Cohort (n=219)

Multicenter

Yes

Structured PICO

Does daily digital device use associate with higher eHealth literacy in older adults hospitalized for heart failure?

Population

Patients aged ≥65 years hospitalized for heart failure who were living at home before admission and received rehabilitation (mean age 82.0, 42.0% female)

Intervention

Daily digital device use (categorized as >1 h/day or ≤1 h/day)

Comparator

No daily digital device use

Outcome

High eHealth literacy (defined as a total eHEALS score ≥26)patient reported

In older adults hospitalized for heart failure, daily digital device use of more than 1 hour is strongly associated with higher eHealth literacy, highlighting the need to tailor post-discharge digital health interventions to patients' baseline digital habits.

Main Result

Effect estimate: OR 13.01 (95% CI 3.38-50.08)

p-value: p=<0.001

Limitations

Assessment of digital device use relied on self-reported information rather than objective measures.
Potential self-assessment bias or common method bias due to reliance on self-reported measures.
eHEALS reflects perceived rather than objectively measured eHealth skills.
Cross-sectional design precludes determining the directionality or causality of the observed associations.
General health literacy, a foundational determinant of eHealth literacy, was not assessed.
Relatively small sample size within subgroups contributed to wide confidence intervals.

Abstract

Background: Many older adults lack eHealth literacy to effectively benefit from digital health technologies. We examined the association between daily digital device use and eHealth literacy among older adults hospitalized for heart failure (HF).

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