Abstract:
Globally, digital health is gaining significant momentum due to its advantages in improving health outcomes, minimising barriers to access, and promoting an equity approach. However, it was the recent COVID-19 pandemic that had the greatest impact on the ways that psychologists’ practice due to the rapid implementation of digital health within healthcare settings in Aotearoa. Within this changing context of psychological practice, there is a need to ensure psychologists are digitally competent. Although evidence indicates the importance of digital health literacy among healthcare providers and the concept is discussed within research, little is known about what this involves for psychologists. Thus, the need to assess the digital health literacy levels of the psychologist workforce is important to inform digital psychological practice in Aotearoa. The current study had three key objectives: 1) to explore the digital health literacy of psychologists working in Aotearoa, 2) to investigate which factors influence the use of digital technologies within psychological practice, and 3) to measure whether factors such as compassion and burnout predict the development of digital health literacy within this group. A sample of 195 psychologists were recruited to complete an online mixed methods questionnaire. Participants provided demographic data and completed a Digital Health Literacy Scale, the Compassion Scale, the Maslach’s Burnout Inventory: Emotional Exhaustion, and questions regarding their digital practice. Our findings revealed that psychologists hold some digital health literacy and generally report being competent in their ability to deliver psychological practice using digital technologies. However, it is evident that improvements are required, and further training opportunities are needed. Statistical analyses found that compassion predicted digital health literacy within this group and contrary to expectations, no relationship was found
between burnout and digital health literacy. In conclusion, findings from this exploratory study provide valuable insights into the digital health literacy of the New Zealand psychologist workforce and offer avenues for future investigation. Recommendations from findings also include developing culturally appropriate standards of digital psychological practice and the inclusion of digital health literacy as a mandated competency for psychologists in Aotearoa New Zealand. Overall, the current study argues that digital health literacy should be a core competency for psychological practice.