Older adultsʼ credibility assessment of online health information: An exploratory study using an extended typology of web credibility

Abstract

Credibility assessment is a crucial component in the process of peopleʼs health information seeking, especially in the web context. Finding "credible" health information from a plethora of information on the web may be more challenging for older adults, who have relatively less experience with the Internet. This article reports on the findings of an exploratory study of older adultsʼ credibility assessments of online health information. The data collected through semistructured interviews with 21 older adult Internet users in the United States were analyzed based on the extended typology of web credibility (Choi & Stvilia, 2015, Journal of the Association for Information Science and Technology, 66, 2399-2414). The findings of the study revealed that older adults paid closer attention to operator-related credibility cues and heuristics when judging the credibility of health information on the web, followed by contentand design-related ones. Also, the findings suggest that participants who were younger and used the Internet more frequently employed a wider variety of cues and heuristics to evaluate the credibility of online health information. Based on these findings, both theoretical and practical implications of the research and future research directions are discussed.

Validating an extended typology of web credibility assessment

“…The extended typology suggests six types of web credibility assessment by cross‐mapping the existing two frameworks (hence its name): operator trustworthiness, operator expertise, content trustworthiness, content expertise, design trustworthiness, and design expertise. Based on the definitions of the key concepts in the original works (i.e., Fogg, 2003; Hovland et al, 1953), operator trustworthiness is defined as “the characteristics of the operator of the website or author of the content that affect the user's perception of the site as having the intent to provide valid and accurate information” (Choi, 2020, p. 4). Operator expertise focuses on “the operator's or the author's ability rather than intent to provide valid and accurate information” (Choi, 2020, p. 4).…”

“…Based on the definitions of the key concepts in the original works (i.e., Fogg, 2003; Hovland et al, 1953), operator trustworthiness is defined as “the characteristics of the operator of the website or author of the content that affect the user's perception of the site as having the intent to provide valid and accurate information” (Choi, 2020, p. 4). Operator expertise focuses on “the operator's or the author's ability rather than intent to provide valid and accurate information” (Choi, 2020, p. 4). The other four types of web credibility are defined as follows: content trustworthiness and content expertise are defined as “the semantic and structural attributes of the content that affect the user's perception of the site as having the intent (i.e., trustworthiness) or ability (i.e., expertise) to provide valid and accurate information.…”

“…As a result, they proposed a conceptual framework to make a clearer, arguably more logical connection between the key dimensions of credibility (i.e., conceptualization) and credibility markers in the web context (i.e., operationalization). Thus far, the conceptual framework has been used to guide empirical investigations on users' web credibility assessment (e.g., Choi, 2020), but the framework has never been DOI: 10.1002/pra2.357 83rd Annual Meeting of the Association for Information Science & Technology October 25-29, 2020. Author(s) retain copyright, but ASIS&T receives an exclusive publication license validated with quantitative empirical data.…”

The Mediated Role of Credibility on Information Sources and Patient Awareness toward Patient Rights

“…The credibility of health information is likely to determine the choice of health information sources, which, in turn, may influence patient decisions and behaviors based upon that information [11]. Earlier literature discussed the main role of credibility in the health information domain [13,14,33], illustrating its effect on evaluating health information. Hence, health communication campaigns are likely to increase their effectiveness when they identify and take advantage of information sources that are not only widely accessed by the population, but those that are also recognized as trustworthy channels of communication.…”

“…Sources with high credibility have a positive impact on consumer attitudes and behavior [11]. When consumers perceive a source to be credible, they are more likely to accept ideas, resulting in more positive mindsets and behavior attitudes [12,13]. The credibility of health information is also likely to determine the choice of health information sources, which, in turn, may influence an individual's decisions and behaviors based upon that information [14].…”