Exploring enablers and inhibitors of eHealth educational tools: The needs of women searching for HPV and cervical cancer information

Hind Bitar; Sarah Alismail

doi:10.1177/20552076221130189

Exploring enablers and inhibitors of eHealth educational tools: The needs of women searching for HPV and cervical cancer information

Digit Health. 2022 Oct 9:8:20552076221130189. doi: 10.1177/20552076221130189. eCollection 2022 Jan-Dec.

Authors

Hind Bitar¹, Sarah Alismail²

Affiliations

¹ Faculty of Computing and Information Technology, Information Systems, King Abdulaziz University, Saudi Arabia.
² Center for Information Systems and Technology, Claremont Graduate University, USA.

Abstract

Objective: This study explored the information women want to know about HPV and cervical cancer, and the enablers or inhibitors that may contribute to, or prevent, seeking online health information.

Methods: Two focus groups were conducted with women from the general public, followed by interviews with 12 physicians practicing in Saudi Arabia. The data was analyzed by using a thematic analysis approach.

Results: Researchers of this study identified six topics of information that were need-related, ten that were enabling, and six inhibiting subthemes related to online information seeking about HPV and cervical cancer.

Discussion and conclusion: In accordance with the identified themes and sub-themes, we offer recommendations to optimize the health information-seeking task related to HPV and cervical cancer through eHealth educational solutions. User- and expert-based feedback can both strengthen and inform the design, development, and implementation of eHealth interventions.

Keywords: HPV; cervical cancer; eHealth educational technology; eHealth intervention; information seeking.