180: IDENTIFYING ELECTRONIC HEALTH LITERACY LEVEL IN ADULT PATIENTS: AN IRANIAN EXPERIENCE

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Many people use the internet for healthcare information worldwide. But collecting information through the internet is different from other media and there is a gap between the electronic health resources available and consumers' skills for using them. Thus by growing Internet and its impact, computer and Internet literacy are becoming important skills for users. Therefore, E-Health literacy should be measured to get a comprehensive overview of people's skills to obtain and use health information. The aim of our study was to identify the level of electronic health literacy in adult patients which refer to dental clinics. This is especially important for patients with dental health care needs who requires to make decisions about various dental treatment plans. Yet, no information is available about this group. METHODS: This was a descriptive-analytical cross sectional study. The method used was Convenience sampling and the population of study were 267 patients referred to the Sepehr dental clinic from May to June. The E-Health Literacy Scale (E-HEALS) was used to measure E-Health literacy. Descriptive analyses were conducted to address the study objectives. RESULTS: The study revealed that most of the patients are low electronic health literate and it is needed to make improvement of patients' skills in internet resources use. Female patients use internet for health reasons more than male patients. Furthermore, the female patients are more literate than male patients. CONCLUSION: Exploring a patient's HL levels may provide a better understanding of the patient's potential barriers to self-management of dental diseases and health-promoting behaviours.