Digital health literacy of people in need of care and nursing staff in full and partial inpatient care facilities - A qualitative survey of needs and requirements (DiGekom-Nursing)

Project management

Dr. Gabriele Seidel

Duration

12/2024-11/2025

Project sponsor/cooperation partner

BARMER

Research associates

Antje Meyer, Anabel Bornemann and Leonard Oppermann

Master's thesis

Luisa Huwe

Experts agree that digitalization in the healthcare sector can improve medical care for older people. It has the potential to provide high-quality medical healthcare and support sustainable patient care. However, recent study results indicate that eHealth poses challenges for older people and professional caregivers, especially if they lack the necessary digital skills or are unaware of the wide range of services available. There is widespread agreement among stakeholders in the German healthcare system that it will become increasingly important for people to be able to use health-related, preventative and health-promoting digital services in the future. These include, for example, comprehensible, evidence-based, digital health information, the electronic patient record (ePA), e-medication plan, telemedicine services, digital health applications (DiGA or DIPA) or other health apps.

So far, little is known about digital health literacy and its health-promoting benefits for residents in retirement and nursing homes. In this context, reference should be made to Section 5 of the German Social Security Code XI, according to which the long-term care insurance funds are to provide prevention services in inpatient care facilities. This involves the participation of the insured person in need of care and the care facility.

Against the background of Section 5 SGB XI, this qualitative study aims to determine the conditions under which the health resources and skills of care staff and those in need of care can be strengthened with the support of digital services. To this end, it is first necessary to identify the needs and requirements of people in need of care and care professionals in order to be able to make good health-related decisions in terms of (digital) health literacy.