EXPLORING THE ASSOCIATION BETWEEN OLDER ADULTS’ INTERNET HEALTH INFORMATION SEEKING BEHAVIORS AND INTERACTIONS WITH HEALTH PROFESSIONALS

The internet has created new possibilities for individuals to assume a more pronounced role in their own healthcare. This paper reports results from a study that examined the perceptions of older people of usability and trust in Internet health information. Information was also gathered on their ability to search for health information. Participants included 64 adults aged 60-82 years who were asked to answer health-related queries using websites that varied in usability. They were also asked to provide ratings of usability and of their trust in Internet health information. The results indicated that performance was lower for the “low usability” websites. Participants also rated these websites as having poorer layout, being harder to navigate, less useful and less understandable. The majority of the sample indicated that they would use the internet to find health information. These findings underscore the importance of considering usability issues when designing e-health applications.

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Examining Health Information–Seeking Behaviors of Older Adults

CIN Computers Informatics Nursing ◽

10.1097/01.ncn.0000432131.92020.42 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 31 (11) ◽

pp. 547-553 ◽

Cited By ~ 55

Author(s):

SHOMIR CHAUDHURI ◽

THAI LE ◽

CATHY WHITE ◽

HILAIRE THOMPSON ◽

GEORGE DEMIRIS

Keyword(s):

Older Adults ◽

Health Information ◽

Information Seeking ◽

Health Information Seeking ◽

Information Seeking Behaviors

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Correlates of Older Adults’ E-Health Information-Seeking Behaviors

Gerontology ◽

10.1159/000521251 ◽

2022 ◽

pp. 1-8

Author(s):

Sara Pourrazavi ◽

Kamiar Kouzekanani ◽

Mohammad Asghari Jafarabadi ◽

Shahrzad Bazargan-Hejazi ◽

Mina Hashemiparast ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Older Adults ◽

Health Literacy ◽

Health Information ◽

Information Seeking ◽

Self Efficacy ◽

Positive Attitude ◽

Perceived Usefulness ◽

Online Information ◽

Health Information Seeking ◽

Information Seeking Behaviors

Introduction: The Internet is an important source for health information and a medium for older adults’ empowerment in health decision-making and self-caring. Therefore, we aimed to identify the potential motivators and probable barriers of e-health information-seeking behaviors (e-HISB) among older Iranian adults. Methods: A cross-sectional study assessed the usefulness of self-efficacy, perceived encouragement, positive attitude toward e-HISB, perceived usefulness, challenges of being visited by physicians, and perceived barriers in predicting e-HISB in a sample of 320 older adults in Tabriz, Iran. Results: The self-efficacy for online information seeking, positive attitude toward e-HISB, and perceived usefulness increased the odds of e-HISB by 12.00%, 24.00%, and 15.00%, respectively. In addition, e-health literacy, conflicting information, distrust of online information, and web designs that were not senior-friendly were the major barriers to e-HISB. Discussion/Conclusion: The theoretical and practical implications of the motivators and barriers of e-HISB can be instrumental in designing and executing programs aimed at improving e-health literacy among older adults especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.

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