Exploring Laypersons' Experiences With a Mobile Symptom Checker App as an Interface Between eHealth Literacy, Health Literacy, and Health-Related Behavior: Qualitative Interview Study.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Symptom checkers aim to help users recognize medical symptoms and recommend actions. However, they are not yet reliable for self-triage or diagnostics. Health literacy plays a role in their use, but the process from symptom recognition to health care consultation remains unclear.

Objective

This qualitative observatory study explored how laypersons use symptom checkers, focusing on the process of use, entry points and outcomes, and the role of health literacy. Laypersons are defined as individuals who are neither medical professionals nor developers of such apps. Three research questions were addressed: (1) How do such users describe the process of using symptom checkers? (2) What are entry points and possible outcomes of symptom checker app use? (3) How are health

SUBMITTER: Koch R 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11971579 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature