Usability of Web Tools and its Impact on Healthcare Literacy in Qatar

Authors: Wahag Al Mashaer Osman Mahgoub and Noha Saleh OS Ahmed

DOI: 10.23880/jqhe-16000236

Volume 4, Issue 4

Abstract

Patient portals are becoming more popular among healthcare organizations. Using patients’ portal is not considered only as a technological transformation in the medical field or an adoption of a latest technology, it is a tool that ensures partnership of patients with care providers and their responsibility in taking decisions pertaining to their own healthcare. The study “Usability of Web Tools and its impact on Healthcare Literacy in Qatar” was conducted to explore community attitude towards portal utilization and its impact in improving health literacy and decision making in Hamad Medical Corporation - Qatar. The study used the quantitative research design to investigate the effect of web tools on healthcare literacy. A questionnaire was developed by researchers where data was collected from 385 end users including 345 patients and 40 professionals through telephone calls. The study showed that the utilization of the web portal among patients is considerably low. Determinants such as level of education, endorsement of the portal’s benefits by the healthcare providers, difficulties in interpreting the portal results and the need for the decisions of the care providers are all contributed in having less utilization. The study presented a significant relationship between the utilization of the portal and the ability to take decisions pertaining to healthcare which ultimately impacting the individuals’ healthcare literacy. The study recommends that the portal’s features need to be revaluated, additional functionalities require to be added, the steps for enrolling on the portal to be simplified and then re-assess the portal utilization. Future researches can study the patient’s portal impact on the clinical outcomes of the patients, on utilization and on the clinician – patient communication after optimizing the portal’s features and functionalities. 

Keywords: Web Tools; Patient Portal; Health Literacy; Patient Engagement

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