Online Filipino-Americans' perspectives on informatics-enabled health management

• SNSs and mHealth were used most frequently for health management.
• Most participants were familiar with PHRs but rarely or never used them.
• ParticParticipants were most interested in using PHRs followed by mHealth and SNSs.
• Advantages and disadvantages to technology use centered around seven themes.

ObjectivesThe purpose of this study was to understand Filipino-Americans' perceptions of three types of information technology used for health management: personal health records (PHRs), mobile health applications (mHealth), and social networking sites (SNSs).MethodsAn online survey was administered to Filipino-American participants recruited via Facebook during 2013. The survey included open- and closed-ended questions regarding participants' (1) experiences with PHRs, mHealth, and SNSs for health management and (2) preferences regarding technology designed for the Filipino-American community. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics for participant demographics and usage patterns and qualitative content analysis for perceived advantages and disadvantages of each technology.ResultsEighty-seven surveys were completed. Participants reported using SNSs (17.6%) and mHealth (10.6%) most frequently for health management, but expressed most interest in using PHRs for future health management (39.0%). Additionally, 61% reported interest in using technology tailored for the Filipino-American community. Reported advantages/disadvantages across the technologies focused on seven themes: accessibility, complementarity, credibility, privacy and security, usability, usefulness, and unspecified.ConclusionsmHealth usage patterns echoed what has previously been reported in other populations. PHR usage patterns fell between two previously reported extremes and SNS usage patterns were greater than those previously reported. While some perceived advantages and disadvantages reflected those of other patient populations, several were unique to this Filipino-American community. Future policy initiatives should promote design processes that address culture in a nuanced way and educational efforts that increase patient knowledge regarding the potential benefits of informatics-enabled health management.