A Multi-faceted Approach to Promote Comprehension of Online Health Information Among Older Adults

Chin, Jessie; Moeller, Darcie; Johnson, Jessica; Duwe, Elise; Graumlich, James F.; Murray, Michael D.; Morrow, Daniel G.

doi:10.1093/geront/gnw254

Cited by 25 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 45 publications

(53 reference statements)

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“…Health literacy interventions have primarily aimed at improving older adults’ ability to comprehend health information (e.g., medical labels) [15, 16], which they consider to be the basic component of health literacy [17]. Leung et al [18] conducted an educational intervention that relied on the use of comic books among community-dwelling older adults.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Effectiveness of an Active Learning Program in Promoting a Healthy Lifestyle among Older Adults with Low Health Literacy: A Randomized Controlled Trial

2020

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Background: Older adults often have a greater need for health information and health care services because access to these helps them manage their health and the chronic conditions of aging. Therefore, low health literacy bears a special significance for the population of older adults. Objectives: The aim of this study was to examine the effects of an active learning program on health literacy, lifestyle behaviors, physical function, and mental health among community-dwelling older adults with low health literacy. Methods: This single-blind, randomized controlled trial involved 60 participants aged ≥65 years with a low health literacy who were randomly assigned to an intervention (n = 30) or control (n = 30) group. Across 24 weeks, the intervention group attended weekly 90-min active learning program sessions, which involved exploratory learning, group work, and the self-planning of behavior changes that promote a healthy lifestyle. The control group attended a 90-min class, which was taught in accordance with the didactic teaching method. For both groups, the programs focused on the role of exercise, diet/nutrition, and cognitive activity for promoting health among older adults. The outcome measures were administered at baseline and week 24. Comprehensive health literacy (i.e., primary outcome) was assessed using the Health Literacy Scale-14. Lifestyle factors (i.e., physical activity, dietary variety, life-space mobility, and social network size), physical function, and depressive symptoms were measured. We used a linear mixed model to estimate the intervention effects in accordance with the intention-to-treat approach. Results: When compared to the control group, the intervention group demonstrated a significant improvement in communicative health literacy, step count, engagement in moderate-to-vigorous physical activity, dietary variety, life-space mobility, social network size, grip strength, gait speed, and depressive symptoms. Conclusions: The active learning program can promote a healthy lifestyle and prevent functional decline among older adults who lack the confidence to engage in health communication.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Effectiveness of an Active Learning Program in Promoting a Healthy Lifestyle among Older Adults with Low Health Literacy: A Randomized Controlled Trial

2020

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“…The last 33% (2/6) of the studies dealt with health literacy and were all designed to develop different approaches aimed at different categories. The first of these studies is the one by Chin et al [ 100 ], which focused on older adults and proposed a multifaceted approach guided by theories of text comprehension and document design to improve readability for websites, in particular claiming that increasing document readability alone is insufficient for improving text comprehension in older adults. Meppelink et al [ 101 ] added to this statement by suggesting the use of a visual representation of information to improve the retention of information.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evaluating the Effectiveness of Internet-Based Communication for Public Health: Systematic Review

et al. 2022

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Background Communicating strategically is a key issue for health organizations. Over the past decade, health care communication via social media and websites has generated a great deal of studies examining different realities of communication strategies. However, when it comes to systematic reviews, there is fragmentary evidence on this type of communication. Objective The aim of this systematic review was to summarize the evidence on web institutional health communication for public health authorities to evaluate possible aim-specific key points based on these existing studies. Methods Guided by the PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) statement, we conducted a comprehensive review across 2 electronic databases (PubMed and Web of Science) from January 1, 2011, to October 7, 2021, searching for studies investigating institutional health communication. In total, 2 independent researchers (AN and SS) reviewed the articles for inclusion, and the assessment of methodological quality was based on the Kmet appraisal checklist. Results A total of 78 articles were selected. Most studies (35/78, 45%) targeted health promotion and disease prevention, followed by crisis communication (24/78, 31%), general health (13/78, 17%), and misinformation correction and health promotion (6/78, 8%). Engagement and message framing were the most analyzed aspects. Few studies (14/78, 18%) focused on campaign effectiveness. Only 23% (18/78) of the studies had an experimental design. The Kmet evaluation was used to distinguish studies presenting a solid structure from lacking studies. In particular, considering the 0.75-point threshold, 36% (28/78) of the studies were excluded. Studies above this threshold were used to identify a series of aim-specific and medium-specific suggestions as the communication strategies used differed greatly. Conclusions Overall, the findings suggest that no single strategy works best in the case of web-based health care communication. The extreme variability of outcomes and the lack of a unitary measure for assessing the end points of a specific campaign or study lead us to reconsider the tools we use to evaluate the efficacy of web-based health communication.

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“…Older adults are regarded as the most vulnerable population due to their complicated healthcare challenges [ 1 ] and low cognitive ability to perform complex self-care tasks [ 2 ]. Older adults use more health care services because many diseases occur during the aging process, especially in the last stages of life [ 3 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Empirical evidence suggest that accessing reliable health information has the potential to improve the users’ self-care skills, adherence to treatment, health knowledge, health decision making, quality of life, hopefulness, sense of empowerment, wellbeing, and moreover reduce anxiety in dealing with health issues [ 8 ]. However, despite the progressive interest of older adults for health information [ 9 ], there is a digital gap in using online health information between younger and older population [ 2 ]. The implicating factors include changes in the physical and cognitive conditions of older adults that result in enhanced perceived difficulty, frustration, and anxiety toward using technology, and developed skepticism toward online information [ 10 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Why Older People Seek Health Information Online: A Qualitative Study

et al. 2021

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Despite the increasing number of older adults’ growing need for health information, little is known about their motivation to seek online health information. This exploratory qualitative study was conducted to examine why older adults seek required health information through online sources. In this qualitative content analysis, we purposefully approached 19 older adults with age in the range between 60–75 (63.78 ± 3.8 years) in Tabriz, Iran. Data were collected via individual, semi-structured face-to-face interviews at a place and time convenient to the study participants from October 2018 to September 2019. We evaluated the content of recorded data until saturation was reached, using MAXQDA 10 software. Subsequently, four central motivational themes were emerged including being self-reliant, achieving a healthier life, seeking reliable sources of health information, and accumulating health information. Older adults seek health information based on their needs and expectations to achieve optimal health status. Our findings provide valuable information for nurses and other health care providers to facilitate older adults’ access to trusting and valid online health information. It further suggests that, with the consideration of COVID-19 pandemic, fact-checking skills of elderly in identifying and accessing credible information sources should be addressed in future health literacy interventions.

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A Multi-faceted Approach to Promote Comprehension of Online Health Information Among Older Adults

Abstract: A systematic, multi-faceted approach to designing health documents can promote online learning among older adults with diverse health literacy abilities.

Cited by 25 publications

References 45 publications

The Effectiveness of an Active Learning Program in Promoting a Healthy Lifestyle among Older Adults with Low Health Literacy: A Randomized Controlled Trial

The Effectiveness of an Active Learning Program in Promoting a Healthy Lifestyle among Older Adults with Low Health Literacy: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Evaluating the Effectiveness of Internet-Based Communication for Public Health: Systematic Review

Why Older People Seek Health Information Online: A Qualitative Study

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