The Impact of Digitalization on Communication: A Research on Trust in Physicians and E-Health Literacy

Individuals' tendency to use digital platforms to obtain health-related information is one of the topics examined within the context of the e-health literacy literature. In this study, the focus is on whether the epistemological discussions on the negative effects of digitalization on communication exist on an ontological basis by considering the phenomena of e-health literacy and trust in physicians. For this purpose, it is attempted to reveal how e-health literacy brought about by digitalization affects trust. The Path Analysis model, which analyzes direct effects, was used in the study. In addition, a structural equation model was established to see whether demographic variables have a moderating role in the effect of e-health literacy on trust in physicians, and a moderation analysis was performed. A total of 349 participants were reached, and the obtained data were analyzed with the help of SPSS and AMOS software. The findings obtained in the study show that e-health literacy negatively affects trust in doctors (β = -0.43, p < 0.001), and that generation, education level, and problems experienced with doctors have a moderating effect on the effect of e-health literacy on trust in doctors (p < 0.05). The findings prove that while digitalization provides access to health information, it can weaken the patient-doctor relationship by reducing trust. In light of the results, it is possible to claim that epistemological discussions regarding the negative effects of digitalization on communication can also be seen ontologically.