Currently, vast amounts of health information and health management tools are available to the public online. To maximize the benefits of these eHealth technologies, it is important to assess the eHealth literacy of individuals. The eHealth Literacy Scale (eHEALS) has been used widely in the past several years, but mainly in younger populations. The purpose of this study was to test the psychometric aspects of the eHEALS for older adults using a secondary data analysis (N = 866, mean age, 62.8 ± 8.5 years). Reliability of the eHEALS was examined by calculating alpha coefficients and conducting test-retest procedures. Its validity was assessed using exploratory factor analysis and the hypothesis testing procedure. Findings demonstrated that eHEALS was internally consistent (α = .94) and stable (t [244] = −1.48, p = .140). The exploratory factor analysis yielded a single factor structure explaining 67.3% of the variance. The hypothesis testing also supported the validity of eHEALS. In recent years, there have been great efforts to use eHealth interventions to engage patients in health care and to help them manage their own health. Our study suggests that the eHEALS, a short screening tool for eHealth literacy, can be successfully used for older adults.

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Hip fracture, a significant health issue for older adults, is an acute event in which older adults can recover their prefracture functional abilities. The recovery phase is often difficult for older adults, and the role of informal caregivers is particularly important. The aim of this qualitative study was to explore informal caregivers' experiences with providing care to older adults over the first 6-month trajectory of hip fracture recovery and their support needs. Participants (N = 10) were interviewed twice at 0–2 and 5–6 months. Analyses of the verbatim transcripts revealed multiple shared themes. Some themes were consistent across phases, such as hip fracture as a turning point toward a frailer state, feeling tired, frustration with communication issues in health care delivery, and lack of information about caregiving-related activities. Certain themes were phase-specific. For instance, in the early phase, management of hospital bills and transitions between care settings were especially burdensome. The caregiving situation, however, was viewed as an opportunity to spend more time with their loved ones. Findings from this study revealed unmet support needs expressed by caregivers of older adult hip fracture patients. Ongoing research and clinical interventions are needed to establish effective methods to empower these caregivers.

BackgroundIn this digital era, eHealth literacy is an essential skill set to leverage health information available online to promote health outcomes. South Korea has an advanced health information technology infrastructure, including widespread use of the internet and mobile phones. A few studies have explored eHealth literacy in South Korea using translated versions of the eHEALS; however, they were not fully validated. A unified reliable and valid assessment tool is critical to assess and enhance the eHealth literacy level across the population.ObjectiveThe aim was to develop a Korean version of eHealth Literacy Scale (K-eHEALS) and evaluate its reliability and validity employing healthy young adults in Korea.MethodsThe K-eHEALS was developed based on eHEALS, a widely used tool that measures eHealth literacy, and was validated using a sample of 500 young adults recruited from a pool of a Korean internet survey panel. Content validity was assessed using the content validity index (CVI) for individual items and for scale. Construct validity was examined using exploratory factor analysis and hypothesis testing. The Cronbach alpha coefficient was used to determine the internal consistency and the Pearson correlation coefficient was used to evaluable the stability of the measure (n=55).ResultsBoth individual and scale CVIs were acceptable (individual CVIs>0.67; scale CVI=0.83). Single factors accounting for 50.3% of the variance in the scales were extracted revealing the unidimensional latent structure of K-eHEALS. Hypothesis testing showed significant association between eHealth literacy and hours of internet use per day, supporting the construct validity. Items of the K-eHEALS were internally consistent (Cronbach alpha=.88) and stable over a 1-month period (r=.754, P<.001).ConclusionsThe findings of this study suggest that K-eHEALS is a valid and reliable measure of eHealth literacy in Korean young adults. Additional studies are needed with more diverse groups of adults in Korea.

The purposes of this study were to develop a Social Cognitive Theory (SCT)-based, Structured Hip Fracture Prevention Website (TSW) for older adults and conduct a preliminary evaluation of its effectiveness. The TSW is comprised of learning modules and a moderated discussion board. A total of 245 older adults recruited from two websites and a newspaper advertisement were randomized into the TSW and the Conventional Websites (CW) groups. Outcomes included (1) knowledge (hip fractures and osteoporosis), (2) self-efficacy and outcome expectations, and (3) calcium intake and exercise, and were assessed at baseline, end-of-treatment ([EOT], 2 weeks), and follow-up (3 months). Both groups showed significant improvement in most outcomes. For calcium intake, only the TSW group showed improvement. None of the group and time interactions were significant. The TSW group, however, was more satisfied with the intervention. The discussion board usage was significantly correlated with outcome gains. Despite several limitations, the findings showed some preliminary effectiveness of web-based health interventions for older adults and the use of a TSW as a sustainable web structure for online health behavior change interventions.