Table 1. Baseline characteristics.
| Variable | All users, n = 146 | Subgroup analysis | p -Value | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Infrequent use, n = 53 | Frequent use, n = 93 | |||
| Demographics | ||||
| Age (mean, SD) | 56.3 ± 15.2 | 58.6 ± 16.6 | 55.0 ± 14.3 | 0.140 |
| Female sex ( n , %) | 59 (40.4) | 18 (34.0) | 41 (44.1) | 0.231 |
| Race ( n , %) | ||||
| Asian or Pacific Islander | 4 (2.8) | 2 (3.8) | 2 (2.2) | 0.064 |
| Black or African American | 23 (16.0) | 13 (24.5) | 10 (11.0) | |
| Multi-race | 4 (2.8) | 3 (5.7) | 1 (1.1) | |
| Other | 29 (20.1) | 8 (15.1) | 21 (23.1) | |
| White | 84 (58.3) | 27 (50.9) | 57 (62.6) | |
| Hispanic, Latino, or Spanish origin ( n , %) | 32 (22.1) | 10 (18.9) | 22 (23.9) | 0.481 |
| Country of origin ( n , %) | ||||
| Dominican Republic or Puerto Rico | 10 (6.9) | 3 (5.7) | 7 (7.6) | 0.183 |
| United States | 108 (74.5) | 36 (67.9) | 72 (78.3) | |
| Other | 27 (18.6) | 14 (26.4) | 13 (14.1) | |
| Spanish as preferred language ( n , %) | 12 (8.3) | 5 (9.6) | 7 (7.6) | 0.757 |
| Socioeconomic status | ||||
| Social vulnerability index (mean, SD) | 0.54 ± 0.32 | 0.58 ± 0.33 | 0.51 ± 0.31 | 0.222 |
| Education ( n , %) | ||||
| < High school graduate or GED | 12 (8.3) | 4 (7.5) | 8 (8.7) | 0.419 |
| High school graduate or GED | 24 (16.6) | 8 (15.1) | 16 (17.4) | |
| Associate's degree, technical school, some college | 53 (36.6) | 24 (45.3) | 29 (31.5) | |
| College graduate or higher | 56 (38.6) | 17 (32.1) | 39 (42.4) | |
| Employment status ( n , %) | ||||
| Employed | 79 (55.6) | 23 (44.2) | 56 (62.2) | 0.054 |
| Unemployed | 29 (20.4) | 11 (21.2) | 18 (20.0) | |
| Retired | 34 (23.9) | 18 (34.6) | 16 (17.8) | |
| Insurance type ( n , %) | ||||
| Public (Medicare or Medicaid) only | 28 (19.3) | 13 (25.0) | 15 (16.1) | 0.013 a |
| Public plus private supplement | 51 (35.2) | 24 (46.2) | 27 (29.0) | |
| Private or commercial only | 54 (37.2) | 14 (26.9) | 40 (43.0) | |
| Self-pay b | 12 (8.3) | 1 (1.9) | 11 (11.8) | |
| Annual household income ( n , %) | ||||
| Less than 15,000 USD | 11 (14.5) | 2 (8.3) | 9 (17.3) | 0.010 a |
| 15,000–50,000 USD | 17 (22.4) | 11 (45.8) | 6 (11.5) | |
| 50,000–100,000 USD | 19 (25.0) | 5 (20.8%) | 14 (26.9) | |
| More than 100,000 USD | 29 (38.2) | 6 (25.0) | 23 (44.2) | |
| Inadequate health literacy ( n , %) | 55 (37.7) | 22 (41.5) | 33 (35.5) | 0.470 |
| Technology experience | ||||
| Can access desktop, laptop, or tablet at home ( n , %) | 136 (93.2) | 48 (90.6) | 88 (94.6) | 0.497 |
| Can access the Internet at home ( n , %) | 133 (91.1) | 42 (79.2) | 91 (97.8) | <0.001 a |
| Daily Internet use in past 30 days ( n , %) | ||||
| <1 hour | 41 (28.1) | 18 (34.0) | 23 (24.7) | 0.312 |
| 1–3 hours | 47 (32.2) | 18 (34.0) | 29 (31.2) | |
| >3 hours | 58 (39.7) | 17 (32.1) | 41 (44.1) | |
| Has email address ( n , %) | 128 (87.7) | 41 (77.4) | 87 (93.5) | 0.004 a |
| Looks up health information online ( n , %) | 121 (82.9) | 42 (79.2) | 79 (84.9) | 0.379 |
| Illness severity | ||||
| Charlson Comorbidity Index (mean, SD) | 2.4 ± 2.0 | 2.8 ± 2.1 | 2.1 ± 1.9 | 0.036 a |
| Severity of Illness level (mean, SD) | 2.7 ± 1.0 | 2.9 ± 1.0 | 2.6 ± 0.9 | 0.020 a |
| Risk of Mortality level (mean, SD) | 2.4 ± 1.0 | 2.6 ± 0.9 | 2.3 ± 1.0 | 0.028 a |
| Length of hospital stay, days (mean, SD) | 11.9 ± 14.7 | 14.7 ± 14.7 | 10.4 ± 14.5 | 0.005 a |
| Patient activation | ||||
| PAM score, pre (mean, SD) | 69.9 ± 14.6 | 71.7 ± 14.6 | 68.9 ± 14.7 | 0.306 |
Abbreviations: GED, General Education Diploma; n , number; PAM, Patient Activation Measure; SD, standard deviation; USD, United States dollars.
Note: Categorical variables reported as n (%), and p -values calculated using chi-squared tests or Fisher's exact tests with Monte Carlo approximation. Continuous variables reported as mean ± SD, and p -values calculated using Wilcoxon rank-sum tests. Percentages exclude missing data.
a
Significant at p = 0.05.
b
In this clinical setting, “self-pay” reflects high-income patients who pay out-of-pocket for elective care.