Relationship between citizens’ perspective on digital health and underlying health risks

OBJECTIVE: Digital health has been gaining widespread attention but has not been fully integrated into the existing healthcare system. However, it remains unclear whether the new digital health solutions align with users’ needs and wants. This study examines how citizens perceive the functionalities of digital health and how different health risks influence their perception. METHODS: Using an online survey, data are collected from over 4000 Danish citizens. The data are analysed using linear regression models. RESULTS: The results show how users’ perceptions of digital health differ significantly. Users are highly interested in data sharing across different healthcare stakeholders but less interested in online health communities. The results also show that the support for digital health is correlated with various health risks, including age, smoking and social network. However, health risks do not have uniform relationship with the perceived value of digital health. CONCLUSIONS: While developing and implementing new digital health solutions, it is important to consider the perceptions of people who are expected to benefit from such solutions. This study contributes to the literature by deepening the knowledge of how citizens with different risk profiles perceive the multitude of digital health tools being introduced in the healthcare sector.