Women's Experiences of Using Patient Portals in Healthcare Settings: a Rapid Review

Overview

Journal BMC Womens Health

Publisher Biomed Central

Specialty Gynecology & Obstetrics

Date 2024 Aug 8

PMID 39118081

Authors

Keri Durocher

Hwayeon Danielle Shin

Kimberley T Jackson

Gillian Strudwick

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Background: The integration of patient portals into health systems has the potential to increase access for women. For example, within a mental health context, women are at a higher risk of developing anxiety and depression but may experience barriers in accessing care. Therefore, the aim of this rapid review was to understand what is currently known about patient portal use among women. The objectives were (1) To discover pertinent facilitators for women when using patient portals; (2) To discern if women face individual barriers to accessing patient portals; and (3) To explore the potential role of patient portals for women's mental health care.

Methods: A rapid review methodology was implemented using the Cochrane Rapid Reviews Methods Group, as well as a grey literature scan. Inclusion criteria included articles that focused on women's use of patient portals within healthcare settings. Four databases were searched, including Embase, MEDLINE (Ovid), CINAHL and PsycINFO in September 2023. Two independent reviewers performed screening, data extraction, and analysis.

Results: This search resulted in screening 1385 titles and abstracts, and 82 articles for full-text eligibility. 15 articles were included in the review. Data were extracted and analyzed, guided by the research objectives. Facilitators to patient portal use included processes that enhanced user engagement, the provision of portal tools, and management of health care features. Barriers included health equity factors and use of medical jargon. Applications to mental health care included how use of portals eased women's anxiety and increased their sense of internal control.

Conclusions: The results of this review indicate that interrelated factors influence women's experiences with using patient portals. By understanding facilitators and barriers to portal use, and applications for mental health care, we can understand how to improve women's use of portals in the future.

References

Lau M, Campbell H, Tang T, Thompson D, Elliott T . Impact of patient use of an online patient portal on diabetes outcomes. Can J Diabetes. 2014; 38(1):17-21. DOI: 10.1016/j.jcjd.2013.10.005. View

Durocher K, Shin H, Lo B, Chen S, Ma C, Strudwick G . Understanding the Role of Patient Portals in Fostering Interprofessional Collaboration Within Mental Health Care Settings: Mixed Methods Study. JMIR Hum Factors. 2023; 10:e44747. PMC: 10398557. DOI: 10.2196/44747. View

Radparvar I, Ross M . Barriers and facilitators of electronic patient portal uptake for asthma management. J Asthma. 2022; 60(4):635-646. PMC: 9763543. DOI: 10.1080/02770903.2022.2087190. View

Runnals J, Garovoy N, McCutcheon S, Robbins A, Mann-Wrobel M, Elliott A . Systematic review of women veterans' mental health. Womens Health Issues. 2014; 24(5):485-502. DOI: 10.1016/j.whi.2014.06.012. View

Kim J, Mathews H, Cortright L, Zeng X, Newton E . Factors Affecting Patient Portal Use Among Low-Income Pregnant Women: Mixed-Methods Pilot Study. JMIR Form Res. 2019; 2(1):e6. PMC: 6334707. DOI: 10.2196/formative.5322. View

Garritty C, Gartlehner G, Nussbaumer-Streit B, King V, Hamel C, Kamel C . Cochrane Rapid Reviews Methods Group offers evidence-informed guidance to conduct rapid reviews. J Clin Epidemiol. 2020; 130:13-22. PMC: 7557165. DOI: 10.1016/j.jclinepi.2020.10.007. View

Dendere R, Slade C, Burton-Jones A, Sullivan C, Staib A, Janda M . Patient Portals Facilitating Engagement With Inpatient Electronic Medical Records: A Systematic Review. J Med Internet Res. 2019; 21(4):e12779. PMC: 6482406. DOI: 10.2196/12779. View

Sun E, Alvarez C, Callahan L, Sheikh S . The Disparities in Patient Portal Use Among Patients With Rheumatic and Musculoskeletal Diseases: Retrospective Cross-sectional Study. J Med Internet Res. 2022; 24(8):e38802. PMC: 9439379. DOI: 10.2196/38802. View

Matthews A, Jung M, Akufo J, Burke L, Dodd D, Donenberg G . Barriers to Using a Patient Portal Among Low-income Patient Populations: A Qualitative Descriptive Study. J Health Care Poor Underserved. 2023; 34(3):863-883. View

10.

Wildenbos G, Peute L, Jaspers M . Facilitators and Barriers of Electronic Health Record Patient Portal Adoption by Older Adults: A Literature Study. Stud Health Technol Inform. 2017; 235:308-312. View

11.

MacEwan S, Fareed N, Jonnalagadda P, Heffer H, Petrecca A, McAlearney A . Patient and provider perspectives on the use of patient portals during pregnancy and the postpartum period. J Telemed Telecare. 2023; 31(2):277-285. DOI: 10.1177/1357633X231177742. View

12.

Wieland D, Gibeau A, Dewey C, Roshto M, Frankel H . Patient portal readiness among postpartum patients in a safety net setting. Appl Clin Inform. 2017; 8(3):698-709. PMC: 6220684. DOI: 10.4338/ACI-2016-12-RA-0204. View

13.

Ordaz O, Croff R, Robinson L, Shea S, Bowles N . Optimization of Primary Care Among Black Americans Using Patient Portals: Qualitative Study. J Med Internet Res. 2021; 23(6):e27820. PMC: 8212618. DOI: 10.2196/27820. View

14.

Turner K, Clary A, Hong Y, Tabriz A, Shea C . Patient Portal Barriers and Group Differences: Cross-Sectional National Survey Study. J Med Internet Res. 2020; 22(9):e18870. PMC: 7530687. DOI: 10.2196/18870. View

15.

Irizarry T, DeVito Dabbs A, Curran C . Patient Portals and Patient Engagement: A State of the Science Review. J Med Internet Res. 2015; 17(6):e148. PMC: 4526960. DOI: 10.2196/jmir.4255. View

16.

Figueroa C, Luo T, Aguilera A, Lyles C . The need for feminist intersectionality in digital health. Lancet Digit Health. 2021; 3(8):e526-e533. DOI: 10.1016/S2589-7500(21)00118-7. View

17.

Abd-Alrazaq A, Alalwan A, McMillan B, Bewick B, Househ M, Al-Zyadat A . Patients' Adoption of Electronic Personal Health Records in England: Secondary Data Analysis. J Med Internet Res. 2020; 22(10):e17499. PMC: 7578819. DOI: 10.2196/17499. View

18.

Jung C, Padman R . Virtualized healthcare delivery: understanding users and their usage patterns of online medical consultations. Int J Med Inform. 2014; 83(12):901-14. DOI: 10.1016/j.ijmedinf.2014.08.004. View

19.

Turvey C, Fuhrmeister L, Klein D, Moeckli J, Howren M, Chasco E . Patient and Provider Experience of Electronic Patient Portals and Secure Messaging in Mental Health Treatment. Telemed J E Health. 2021; 28(2):189-198. PMC: 8941946. DOI: 10.1089/tmj.2020.0395. View

20.

Arcury T, Quandt S, Sandberg J, Miller Jr D, Latulipe C, Leng X . Patient Portal Utilization Among Ethnically Diverse Low Income Older Adults: Observational Study. JMIR Med Inform. 2017; 5(4):e47. PMC: 5705857. DOI: 10.2196/medinform.8026. View