Cognitive factors of using health apps: Systematic analysis of relationships among health consciousness,health information orientation,eHealth literacy,and health app use efficacy

Background: interest in smartphone health apps has been increasing recently. however,we have little understanding of the cognitive and motivational factors that influence the extent of health-app use. objective: this study aimed to examine the effects of four cognitive factors-health consciousness,health information orientation,ehealth literacy,and health-app use efficacy-on the extent of health-app use. it also explored the influence of two different use patterns-information and information-behavior use of health apps-with regard to the relationships among the main study variables. methods: we collected and analyzed 765 surveys in south korea. according to the results,there was a negligible gender difference: males (50.6%,387/765) and females (49.4%,378/765). all participants were adults whose ages ranged from 19 to 59. in order to test the proposed hypotheses,we used a path analysis as a specific form of structural equation modeling. results: through a path analysis,we discovered that individuals' health consciousness had a direct effect on their use of health apps. however,unlike the initial expectations,the effects of health information orientation and ehealth literacy on health-app use were mediated by health-app use efficacy. conclusions: the results from the path analysis addressed a significant direct effect of health consciousness as well as strong mediating effects of health-app use efficacy. these findings contribute to widening our comprehension of the new,digital dimensions of health management,particularly those revolving around mobile technology.