Relationship Between Perioperative e-Health Literacy and the Quality of Bowel Preparation: A Propensity Score-matched, Retrospective, Observational Study.

Abstract

Purpose: To analyze the correlation between perioperative electronic health literacy (e-health literacy) and the quality of bowel preparation based on investigating the risk factors associated with inadequate bowel preparation in colonoscopy patients.

Design: A prospectively observational study conducted at three tertiary endoscopy centers in China.

Methods: In total, 9,618 patients who underwent their first colonoscopy scanning from July 2023 to June 2024 were collected. Logistic regression analysis was used to identify independent risk factors for bowel preparation failure, while 1:1 propensity score matching was employed to compare the quality of bowel preparation based on different e-health literacy levels.

Findings: About 24.55% of patients were experiencing inadequate bowel preparation. Moderate-to-severe anxiety, male, primary school education level, nondigestive endoscopy specialist prescribing, more than 7 days between prescription and treatment time, and low perioperative e-health literacy levels were the independent risk factors for inadequate bowel preparation (P < .05). Inadequate bowel preparation in patients with low perioperative e-health literacy group was predominantly seen in the right and left colon and the proximal colon.

Conclusions: Perioperative e-health literacy is an independent risk factor for the quality of bowel preparation. The results highlight the need for developing a customized education intervention program that can improve perioperative e-health literacy for successful preoperative preparation.