Exploring Digital Health Promotion and Education in East Texas: Pathways to Improving Access

Purpose: Technology is an important part of healthcare in the United States. There are opportunities for a better understanding of how technology and digital health can improve health and healthcare. The purpose of this study was to answer two research questions. The first research question was, what is the understanding of digital health in the community? The second research question was, what is the knowledge of digital health in the community. These research questions may inform how health professionals address the issue of electronic health records, digital health, and the implications for technology. Methods: Using a convenience sample, participants were recruited to answer an online survey to identify knowledge and understanding of technology, digital health, and a better understanding of health. Participants were able to opt into or out of the survey. The data was analyzed using Microsoft Excel and evaluated with descriptive statistics. Results: The sample size of 14 is small. Results identified that participants were not fully embracing of health technologies. The data indicated that participants were not fully accepting of technology and digital health. Conclusions: Further research should be conducted to obtain a larger sample size. Healthcare professionals have a responsibility to plan interventions to educate the community about health and health technologies. Qualitative and mixed-method studies can add to what is known about health and healthcare technology and digital health resources. Recommendations: It is recommended that interventions be targeted to educate the East Texas population about electronic health resources, telehealth/telemedicine, and technologies that can support health. This article was published in Journal of Health Education Teaching, 2020; 11(1), 32-42. ISSN: 2333-4851. The article is Creative Commons licensed (CC-BY 4.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.https://openriver.winona.edu/educationeddfacultyworks/1019/thumbnail.jp