The Impact of Health Management Capacity on Self-Efficacy in Middle-Aged and Older Adults: Focusing on the Moderating Role of Digital Health Literacy

With the rapid aging of the population and the spread of digital healthcare environments, the importance of health management capacity and digital health literacy among middle-aged and older adults is increasingly being recognized.Additionally, self-efficacy is gaining attention as a key psychological factor influencing health behaviors and quality of life among middle-aged and older adults.Therefore, this study aims to analyze the impact of health management capacity on selfefficacy among middle-aged and older adults, and to examine how digital health literacy moderates this relationship empirically.Using data from the 2021 "Survey on Digital Health Accessibility and Individual Competency Factors" by the Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs, multiple and hierarchical regression analyses were conducted on adults aged 50 and older.Health management capacity comprises three subfactors: understanding health information, utilizing medical services, and adopting healthy lifestyles.All subfactors of health management capacity positively affected selfefficacy, with healthy lifestyle practice capacity having the strongest impact.Digital health literacy had both a direct effect on self-efficacy and a moderating effect, strengthening the relationship between health management capacity and self-efficacy.This suggests that the higher the level of digital health literacy, the greater the positive impact health management competency has on selfefficacy.