Perception of the usefulness of telehealth and health literacy during COVID-19 crisis in France: Presenter(s): Rajae Touzani, Aix Marseille Univ, INSERM, IRD, SESSTIM, Sciences Economiques & Sociales de la Santé & Traitement de l’Information Médicale, Equipe CANBIOS Labellisée Ligue Contre le Cancer, France

BACKGROUND: With the aim of maintaining access to care for all, telehealth was promoted during the COVID-19 health crisis. Indeed, health professionals have used telemedicine by carrying out teleconsultation or medical telemonitoring. The objective of our study was therefore to study the perceived usefulness of video and mobile apps for consultations during the COVID-19 pandemic in France. METHODS: The data were collected, in two waves, alongside the “Health Literacy Survey 2019” among 2 003 people in France (1 003 in May 2020 + 1 000 in January 2021). It collected sociodemographic characteristics, health literacy, trust in institutions, self-reported health, and the use of healthcare services. The perceived usefulness of video in consultation was measured by combining two responses concerning the usefulness of videoconferencing and video recording of consultations. The same method was used regarding the usefulness of mobile apps (for doctor appointments booking and to communicate patient-reported outcomes to healthcare professionals). FINDINGS: The majority of respondents considered the use of mobile apps useful (69.0%), while only 29.9% declared videos useful in the context of medical consultations. The factors associated with the perceived usefulness of the video and mobile app were: age under 55, mother born outside France, trust in political representatives and higher health literacy. Not having chronic illnesses but being limited in daily activities increased the likelihood of adhering to video in medical consultation (adjusted Odds Ratio=1.78; p=0.008). The probability of adhering to mobile apps increased with the number of consultations with a specialist (aOR=1.38; p=0.019). DISCUSSION: The use of videos in medical consultations was perceived less useful than mobile apps. Almost the same factors were associated with the perceived usefulness of the two new technologies with a significant impact the level of health literacy. People whose physical health is degraded are more interested in videos.