Source study found
Story checked
High e-health literacy encourages patients to visit medical professionals (opens in a new tab)
news-medical.net · 2026-10-19
Short answer
Mostly not supportedMostly not supported.
2 claims go further than the study. 4 other points were not covered by the paper.
- 1 supported
- 2 overstated
- 4 not covered
Checked against the study summary. The full text wasn't available, so some details couldn't be settled either way.
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The story
High e-health literacy encourages patients to visit medical professionals
news-medical.net · 2026-10-19
The story’s checkable claims.
Read the original story (opens in a new tab)NewsLink checks it
Mostly not supported
Two of seven claims overstate the study. One of seven checks out. Four claims the study doesn't address.
- 1 supported
- 2 overstated
- 4 not covered
The source study
e-health literacy, health-seeking behaviors, and perceived ease of use of digital health systems in outpatients
Source layer
The 3 papers the story cites
Source study separated from background citations.
The research anchor for the report.
- The study this story reportsmentioned without context
e-health literacy, health-seeking behaviors, and perceived ease of use of digital health systems in outpatients
Open Medicine · 2026
- The study this story reportsmentioned without context
10.1515/med-2026-1523/html
- The study this story reportspresented as the new finding
e-health literacy, health-seeking behaviors, and perceived ease of use of digital health systems in outpatients
Evidence layer
Claim by claim
Each claim gets a verdict. Expand it to see the evidence directly below.
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7 claims in this storyShowing all 7 claimsChoose a verdict to focus the list.
Claim 1 of 7OverstatedBetter electronic health literacy actively drives young adult patients into doctors' offices rather than replacing professional consultations with self-treatment.View evidenceHide evidence
Why this verdict
The abstract supports an association between higher e-health literacy and greater online and professional health-seeking, but the study is cross-sectional and observational. The headline wording that literacy 'actively drives' patients into doctors' offices and replaces self-treatment with professional consultations is causal and stronger than the evidence. The headline also outruns the story's own caveat that the evidence is associational, not causal.
Study evidence
Higher e-health literacy scores were significantly associated with greater online health-seeking behavior.p < 0.001
“A cross-sectional survey was conducted among 847 outpatients aged 18–43 years in Ankara, Turkey.”
Claim 2 of 7OverstatedHigher e-health literacy also made patients more likely to find government digital health apps easy to navigate, but it was not related to traditional health habits such as seeking home remedies or advice from friends and family.View evidenceHide evidence
Why this verdict
The paper profile supports that higher e-health literacy was associated with greater odds of perceiving national e-health applications as easy to use, and was not significantly associated with traditional health-seeking behavior. But the claim says higher literacy 'made' patients more likely to find apps easy to navigate, which implies causation from cross-sectional observational evidence.
Study evidence
Higher e-health literacy scores were significantly associated with greater online health-seeking behavior.p < 0.001
“A cross-sectional survey was conducted among 847 outpatients aged 18–43 years in Ankara, Turkey.”
Study evidence
Higher e‑health literacy was associated with higher odds of perceiving national e‑health applications as easy to use in multivariable logistic regression.aOR = 1.070 (95% CI: 1.038–1.104)
“Participants with higher e-health literacy were also more likely to perceive national e-health applications as easy to use (aOR=1.070, 95 % CI: 1.038–1.104).”
Claim 3 of 7Not coveredThe article says this conclusion comes from a new study published in Open Medicine titled 'e-health literacy, health-seeking behaviors, and perceived ease of use of digital health systems in outpatients.'View evidenceHide evidence
Why this verdict
The supplied paper profile does not provide verifiable bibliographic details for the journal name or full article title beyond the DOI/profile content. At abstract-profile depth, this publication/title claim cannot be checked against the supplied evidence.
Claim 4 of 7Not coveredThe study surveyed 847 outpatient adults aged 18–43 at Gazi University Hospital in Ankara, Turkey, and used the eHealth Literacy Scale (eHEALS) to assess e-health literacy.View evidenceHide evidence
As stated847 outpatient adults aged 18–43
Why this verdict
The abstract profile supports a cross-sectional survey of 847 outpatients aged 18–43 in Ankara, Turkey, using eHEALS. However, the specific claim that the study was conducted at Gazi University Hospital is not present in the supplied abstract-level profile, so the full setting detail is not verifiable at this depth.
Study evidence
Higher e-health literacy scores were significantly associated with greater online health-seeking behavior.p < 0.001
“A cross-sectional survey was conducted among 847 outpatients aged 18–43 years in Ankara, Turkey.”
Claim 5 of 7Not coveredHigher e-health literacy was associated with both doing more online research and more visits to healthcare providers, and e-health literate patients used the internet to prepare for and seek out professional care.View evidenceHide evidence
Why this verdict
The abstract supports significant associations between higher e-health literacy and greater online and professional health-seeking behavior. However, the more specific wording that patients had 'more visits' and used the internet 'to prepare for' professional care is not directly available in the supplied abstract-level profile, which does not provide item-level HSBS content or visit-count details.
Study evidence
Higher e-health literacy scores were significantly associated with greater online health-seeking behavior.p < 0.001
“A cross-sectional survey was conducted among 847 outpatients aged 18–43 years in Ankara, Turkey.”
Claim 6 of 7Not coveredThe article says women utilized digital and professional health channels more than men, higher education levels predicted more visits to medical professionals, parents were more likely to lean on home remedies and close personal networks, and poorer health was linked to greater difficulty navigating online health portals.View evidenceHide evidence
Why this verdict
The abstract profile only states that gender and education level were significant sociodemographic predictors of professional health-seeking, without directions, effect sizes, or details for digital-channel use. It does not verify the stated directions for women, the claim that higher education predicted more visits, the parent/home-remedy pattern, or the poorer-health/portal-difficulty claim. These may require full-text evidence, but they are not verifiable from the supplied abstract profile.
Study evidence
Higher e-health literacy scores were significantly associated with greater online health-seeking behavior.p < 0.001
“A cross-sectional survey was conducted among 847 outpatients aged 18–43 years in Ankara, Turkey.”
Study evidence
Higher e‑health literacy was associated with higher odds of perceiving national e‑health applications as easy to use in multivariable logistic regression.aOR = 1.070 (95% CI: 1.038–1.104)
“Participants with higher e-health literacy were also more likely to perceive national e-health applications as easy to use (aOR=1.070, 95 % CI: 1.038–1.104).”
Claim 7 of 7SupportedThe authors said e-health literacy interventions are needed even among digitally engaged younger populations to promote equitable access to health services and reduce digital disparities.View evidenceHide evidence
Why this verdict
The paper profile's discussion states that the authors emphasize targeted e-health literacy interventions among younger, digitally engaged populations to promote equitable access and reduce digital disparities. This matches the story's recommendation-level framing.
Study evidence
Higher e-health literacy scores were significantly associated with greater online health-seeking behavior.p < 0.001
“A cross-sectional survey was conducted among 847 outpatients aged 18–43 years in Ankara, Turkey.”
Study evidence
Higher e‑health literacy was associated with higher odds of perceiving national e‑health applications as easy to use in multivariable logistic regression.aOR = 1.070 (95% CI: 1.038–1.104)
“Participants with higher e-health literacy were also more likely to perceive national e-health applications as easy to use (aOR=1.070, 95 % CI: 1.038–1.104).”
Context layer
What the story left out
Important study details the story did not include.
E-health literacy was measured with eHEALS and health-seeking behavior with HSBS; these are self-reported measures, creating possible reporting or measurement bias.
The story notes use of eHEALS, but its listed caveats do not mention that the main measures, including perceived ease of use, were self-reported and therefore subject to reporting/measurement bias.
From Cross-sectional survey; cross-sectional survey
For sociodemographic predictors, the abstract reports only that gender and education level were significant predictors of professional health-seeking; it does not provide directionality, effect sizes, or the additional parent/health-status patterns stated in the story.
The story gives directional and expanded subgroup claims that are not supported by the abstract-level profile. The abstract-level evidence is materially narrower than the story presentation.
From Cross-sectional questionnaire survey; multivariable regression of health-seeking outcomes
5 things the story did carry across
- The study was a cross-sectional observational outpatient survey, so associations cannot establish causality or temporal direction.
- The main sample was 847 outpatients aged 18–43 in Ankara, Turkey, limiting generalizability to other ages, populations, and settings.
- Higher e-health literacy was significantly associated with greater online and professional health-seeking, but not with traditional health-seeking behavior.
- Higher e-health literacy was associated with higher odds of perceiving national e-health applications as easy to use, with an abstract-reported aOR of 1.070 and 95% CI 1.038–1.104.
- The authors recommend targeted e-health literacy interventions to improve equitable access and reduce digital disparities among younger, digitally engaged populations.
Study layer
Study at a glance
Scan the study first. Expand only the parts you want to inspect.
Pieces of work
3
Evidence read
study summary
Lead result
human in vivo
1Lead resulthuman in vivoAssess associations between e-health literacy and multidimensional health-seeking behaviors (online, professional, traditional) among outpatients aged 18–43 in Ankara, Turkey.Cross-sectional surveyExpandCollapse
In plain English
Cross-sectional survey of 847 outpatients aged 18–43 in Ankara, Turkey assessing associations between e-health literacy (eHEALS) and multidimensional health-seeking behaviors (HSBS) using multivariable regression analyses; higher e-health literacy was associated with greater online and professional health-seeking and with greater perceived ease of use of national e-health applications, but not with traditional health-seeking.
Key findings
- Higher e-health literacy scores were significantly associated with greater online health-seeking behavior.p < 0.001
- Higher e-health literacy scores were significantly associated with greater professional health-seeking behavior.p < 0.001
“A cross-sectional survey was conducted among 847 outpatients aged 18–43 years in Ankara, Turkey.”
What this piece can’t prove
- Cross-sectional design limits causal interpretation of associations.
- Sample restricted to outpatients aged 18–43 in Ankara, Turkey, which may limit generalizability to other age groups or settings.
- All measures reported in abstract are self-reported (eHEALS, HSBS, perceived ease of use), which may introduce reporting or measurement bias.
2human in vivoAssess whether e-health literacy (and sociodemographics) predicts perceived ease of use of national e-health applications among the same outpatient sample.cross-sectional surveyExpandCollapse
In plain English
Cross-sectional survey of 847 outpatients (ages 18–43, Ankara, Turkey) examined whether e‑health literacy and sociodemographics predict perceived ease of use of national e‑health applications using multivariable logistic regression; higher e‑health literacy was associated with greater odds of perceiving the applications as easy to use (aOR=1.070, 95% CI 1.038–1.104).
Key findings
- Higher e‑health literacy was associated with higher odds of perceiving national e‑health applications as easy to use in multivariable logistic regression.aOR = 1.070 (95% CI: 1.038–1.104)
“Participants with higher e-health literacy were also more likely to perceive national e-health applications as easy to use (aOR=1.070, 95 % CI: 1.038–1.104).”
What this piece can’t prove
- Cross‑sectional design prevents inference of causality or temporal direction between e‑health literacy and perceived ease of use.
- All measures (eHEALS and perceived ease of use) are self‑reported, which may introduce reporting bias.
- Sample restricted to outpatients aged 18–43 in a single city (Ankara), limiting generalizability to other ages or settings.
- Abstract does not report which sociodemographic covariates were included in the logistic regression, nor model fit/statistical assumptions.
3human in vivoIdentify sociodemographic predictors (e.g., gender, education) of professional health-seeking behavior within the outpatient sample.Cross-sectional questionnaire survey; multivariable regression of health-seeking outcomesExpandCollapse
In plain English
In a cross-sectional survey of 847 outpatients aged 18–43 years in Ankara, Turkey, multivariable regression analyses reported that gender and education level were significant sociodemographic predictors of professional health-seeking behavior.
Key findings
- Gender and education level were significant sociodemographic predictors of professional health-seeking behavior in multivariable models.
“Gender and education level were significant sociodemographic predictors of professional health-seeking.”
What this piece can’t prove
- Single-site outpatient sample restricted to ages 18–43 limits external validity.
2 further details could not be confirmed from the summary.
Method layer
NewsLink found the paper. Tessa takes you deeper.
NewsLink checks the story. Tessa is where you inspect the paper, authors, evidence, and research context.
Open the paper in Tessa
e-health literacy, health-seeking behaviors, and perceived ease of use of digital health systems in outpatients
Open Medicine · 2026
Why this one
Near certain
NewsLink found the paper. Tessa is where you inspect it deeply.
Papers considered
The selected paper, plus nearby candidates.
Crossref, Europe PMC, PubMed · 39 candidate papers
e-health literacy, health-seeking behaviors, and perceived ease of use of digital health systems in outpatients
Open Medicine · 2026 · Crossref
Author Index
Genetics in Medicine Open · 2026 · Crossref
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Relationship of Serum Tricellulin, MarvelD3, and Tumor Necrosis Factor-Alpha Levels With Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder Severity in Children and Adolescents.
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From an Incidental Finding to an Aggressive Diagnosis: Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma Presentation with Asymptomatic Splenic Lesions
Cerasus Journal of Medicine · 2026 · Crossref
Efficacy of Noninvasive Interventions for Reducing Postoperative Kinesiophobia in Patients Undergoing Primary Total Knee Arthroplasty: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials.
2026 · Europe PMC
And 33 more candidates considered.