E-health promotion for aging baby boomers in North America

Sinden, Danielle; Wister, Andrew

doi:10.4017/gt.2008.07.03.002.00

Cited by 7 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 15 publications

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“…They also suggest that informal channels of lifewide learning may be effective pathways to maintaining or fostering health literacy among older adults through enhancing reading and cognitive skills as found in studies of younger age groups (Cunningham & Stanovich, 2003). The strength of the association between computer/Internet use and health literacy is particularly interesting, given the spread of computer technology and computer literacy in society (Sinden & Wister, 2008). Although some of the other types of formal and informal forms of learning were not supported (trade fairs or conferences, being sent to an organization to learn, lectures, watching a video or television, guided tours, or watching others or getting help), apart from watching television, many of these learning styles do not affect a large number of older adults and therefore it is not surprising that they were found to be ineffective in affecting health literacy in this study.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Lifelong Educational Practices and Resources in Enabling Health Literacy Among Older Adults

et al. 2010

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Lifelong Educational Practices and Resources in Enabling Health Literacy Among Older Adults

et al. 2010

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“…In addition, older adults are also more likely to suffer from various health conditions [ 4 ] and take more medications [ 5 ]. Access to quality health information might be especially beneficial to older adults’ maintenance of their more complicated health situations [ 6 ]. Being better informed may allow them to ask more questions of their health care providers or to alleviate their concerns due to lack of information.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Age-Sensitive Design of Online Health Information: Comparative Usability Study

Pak

Price²,

Thatcher³

2009

J Med Internet Res

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Background Older adults’ health maintenance may be enhanced by having access to online health information. However, usability issues may prevent older adults from easily accessing such information. Prior research has shown that aging is associated with a unique pattern of cognitive changes, and knowledge of these changes may be used in the design of health websites for older adults. Objective The goal of the current study was to examine whether older adults use of a health information website was affected by an alternative information architecture and access interface (hierarchical versus tag-based). Methods Fifty younger adults (aged 18-23) and 50 older adults (aged 60-80) navigated a health information website, which was organized hierarchically or used tags/keywords, to find answers to health-related questions while their performance was tracked. We hypothesized that older adults would perform better in the tag-based health information website because it placed greater demands on abilities that remain intact with aging (verbal ability and vocabulary). Results The pattern of age-related differences in computer use was consistent with prior research with older adults. We found that older adults had been using computers for less time ( F 1,98 = 10.6, P = .002) and used them less often ( F 1,98 = 11.3, P = .001) than younger adults. Also consistent with the cognitive aging literature, younger adults had greater spatial visualization and orientation abilities ( F 1,98 = 34.6, P < .001 and F 1,98 = 6.8, P = .01) and a larger memory span ( F 1,98 = 5.7, P = .02) than older adults, but older adults had greater vocabulary ( F 1,98 = 11.4, P = .001). Older adults also took significantly more medications than younger adults ( F 1,98 = 57.7, P < .001). In the information search task, older adults performed worse than younger adults ( F 1,96 = 18.0, P < .001). However, there was a significant age × condition interaction indicating that while younger adults outperformed older adults in the hierarchical condition ( F 1,96 = 25.2, P < .001), there were no significant age-related differences in the tag-based condition, indicating that older adults performed as well as younger adults in this condition. Conclusions Access to online health information is increasing in popularity and can lea...

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“…A Pew research study found that ‘a majority of e-patients access user-generated health information with 41% having read a commentary/blog/newsgroup about a particular health or medical issue [35] . “Yet, the full potential of Internet for health promotion has not been met, especially for the Baby Boomer generation.” [36] . Though there is a dearth of evaluation and design studies of PHIM specified to Baby Boomers, studies do exist that provide insight regarding whether Baby Boomers seek specific health information on the Internet.…”

Section: Results-conceptual Model Constructsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Tailored design may contribute to motivation and adoption of PHIM. Evaluation of design features needed to appropriately tailor sites to Baby Boomers has not received much attention; likewise, methods to achieving changes in health attitudes and beliefs through CHIT have also been under studied [36] . A noted exception is recent work that explores persuasive technologies, computing systems, devices, or applications designed to change a person's attitude or behavior, with the intention of improving health behaviors, reducing health care costs, and allowing aging adults to maintain independent living [40] .…”

Section: Results-conceptual Model Constructsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Challenges and Opportunities with Empowering Baby Boomers for Personal Health Information Management Using Consumer Health Information Technologies: an Ecological Perspective

et al. 2014

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“Baby Boomers” (adults born between the years of 1946 and 1964) make up the largest segment of the population in many countries, including the United States (about 78 million Americans) [1]. As Baby Boomers reach retirement age and beyond, many will have increasing medical needs and thus demand more health care resources that will challenge the healthcare system. Baby Boomers will likely accelerate the movement toward patient self-management and prevention efforts. Consumer Health Information Technologies (CHIT) hold promise for empowering health consumers to take an active role in health maintenance and disease management, and thus, have the potential to address Baby Boomers' health needs. Such innovations require changes in health care practice and processes that take into account Baby Boomers' personal health needs, preferences, health culture, and abilities to use these technologies. Without foundational knowledge of barriers and opportunities, Baby Boomers may not realize the potential of these innovations for improving self-management of health and health outcomes. However, research to date has not adequately explored the degree to which Baby Boomers are ready to embrace consumer health information technology and how their unique subcultures affect adoption and diffusion. This position paper describes an ecological conceptual framework for understanding and studying CHIT aimed at satisfying the personal health needs of Baby Boomers. We explore existing literature to provide a detailed depiction of our proposed conceptual framework, which focuses characteristics influencing Baby Boomers and their Personal Health Information Management (PHIM) and potential information problems. Using our ecological framework as a backdrop, we provide insight and implications for future research based on literature and underlying theories represented in our model.

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E-health promotion for aging baby boomers in North America

Cited by 7 publications

References 15 publications

Lifelong Educational Practices and Resources in Enabling Health Literacy Among Older Adults

Lifelong Educational Practices and Resources in Enabling Health Literacy Among Older Adults

Age-Sensitive Design of Online Health Information: Comparative Usability Study

Challenges and Opportunities with Empowering Baby Boomers for Personal Health Information Management Using Consumer Health Information Technologies: an Ecological Perspective

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