One of the questions explored by „The Digital Patient” is how to promote health literacy in the digital age. To deepen our understanding of the various issues associated with this question, we interviewed Professor Michael Mackert from the University of Texas. Together with his colleagues, Mackert recently carried out a study exploring the impact of low health literacy among citizens on how they use digital health information. The findings show that patients with low health literacy are generally less healthy and have more difficulty with digital solutions, particularly when it comes to protecting their privacy and preparing information. This risk of a new digital divide is considerable. The study’s findings were published in 2016 in the Journal of Medical Internet Research. In the following interview, the study’s author, Prof. Mackert, discusses the lessons we can draw from these findings.
