Health information seeking of low socioeconomic status Hispanic adults using smartphones

Smartphones have great potential to bridge the digital divide that low-socioeconomic status (SES) Hispanics have been experiencing. However, little is known about this group’s use of smartphones for health information. The purpose of this paper is to fill the gap by exploring the context in which smartphones were used for health information.

The authors interviewed 20 low-SES Hispanic participants using the semi-structured interview method. Participants had not obtained college degrees and had annual incomes less than $30,000, but had used their smartphones for health information. The interviews were transcribed and analyzed using the qualitative content analysis method.

Being economical was an important reason for low-SES Hispanic users to use smartphones for health information. The users relied heavily on public Wi-Fi to access the internet. They searched a wide range of health topics, mostly using the mobile web rather than apps. They lacked knowledge and skills to effectively using apps, evaluating the quality of health information, and comprehend information.

Having access to smartphones alone does not help bridge the digital gap for low-SES Hispanics. Interventions need to consider improving these users’ smartphone literacy and health literacy, as well as improving their access to Wi-Fi services and to more quality content in Spanish.

Prior studies speculated that smartphones could be a means to bridge digital divide experienced by the Hispanic ethnic group. This study provided empirical knowledge about how smartphones are used by these users for health information, and shed light on the design of future informational interventions.