Older adults' health information behavior in everyday life settings

Toward a Medication Information Literacy Indicator System for Older Adults: A Delphi Study

BACKGROUND

The safety of medication use among older adults is a growing concern, given the aging population. Despite widespread attention, the exploration of medication literacy in older adults, particularly from the perspective of information literacy, is in its nascent stages.

METHODS

This study utilized the existing literature to define medication information literacy (MIL) as a theoretical framework. A two-round Delphi survey was conducted to identify the essential components of a MIL indicator system for older adults. The analytic hierarchy process (AHP) was then used to assign weights to each indicator.

RESULTS

The study observed relatively high response rates in both rounds of the questionnaire, which, along with expert authority coefficients (Cr) of 0.86 and 0.89, underscores the credibility and expertise of the panellists. Additionally, Kendall's coefficient of concordance (Kendall's W) ranging from 0.157 to 0.33 (p < 0.05) indicates a consensus among experts on the identified indicators. Utilizing the Delphi process, a MIL indicator system for older adults was developed, comprising five primary and 23 secondary indicators. These indicators were weighted, with medication information cognition and acquisition emerging as pivotal factors in enhancing medication literacy among older adults.

CONCLUSIONS

This study developed a MIL indicator system tailored for older adults using the Delphi approach. The findings can inform healthcare professionals in providing customized medication guidance and assist policymakers in crafting policies to enhance medication safety among older adults.

PATIENT OR PUBLIC CONTRIBUTION

Patient and public engagement played a pivotal role in the development of our medication information literacy indicator system for older adults. Their involvement contributed to shaping research questions, facilitating study participation, and enriching evidence interpretation. Collaborations with experts in geriatric nursing, medicine, and public health, along with discussions with caregivers and individuals with lived experience, provided invaluable insights into medication management among older adults. Their input guided our research direction and ensured the relevance and comprehensiveness of our findings.

Online Health Information Seeking Behaviors Among Older Adults: Systematic Scoping Review

Background

With the world’s population aging, more health-conscious older adults are seeking health information to make better-informed health decisions. The rapid growth of the internet has empowered older adults to access web-based health information sources. However, research explicitly exploring older adults’ online health information seeking (OHIS) behavior is still underway.

Objective

This systematic scoping review aims to understand older adults’ OHIS and answer four research questions: (1) What types of health information do older adults seek and where do they seek health information on the internet? (2) What are the factors that influence older adults’ OHIS? (3) What are the barriers to older adults’ OHIS? (4) How can we intervene and support older adults’ OHIS?

Methods

A comprehensive literature search was performed in November 2020, involving the following academic databases: Web of Science; Cochrane Library database; PubMed; MEDLINE; CINAHL Plus; APA PsycINFO; Library and Information Science Source; Library, Information Science and Technology Abstracts; Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection; Communication & Mass Media Complete; ABI/INFORM; and ACM Digital Library. The initial search identified 8047 publications through database search strategies. After the removal of duplicates, a data set consisting of 5949 publications was obtained for screening. Among these, 75 articles met the inclusion criteria. Qualitative content analysis was performed to identify themes related to the research questions.

Results

The results suggest that older adults seek 10 types of health information from 6 types of internet-based information sources and that 2 main categories of influencing factors, individual-related and source-related, impact older adults’ OHIS. Moreover, the results reveal that in their OHIS, older adults confront 3 types of barriers, namely individual, social, and those related to information and communication technologies. Some intervention programs based on educational training workshops have been created to intervene and support older adults’ OHIS.

Conclusions

Although OHIS has become increasingly common among older adults, the review reveals that older adults’ OHIS behavior is not adequately investigated. The findings suggest that more studies are needed to understand older adults’ OHIS behaviors and better support their medical and health decisions in OHIS. Based on the results, the review proposes multiple objectives for future studies, including (1) more investigations on the OHIS behavior of older adults above 85 years; (2) conducting more longitudinal, action research, and mixed methods studies; (3) elaboration of the mobile context and cross-platform scenario of older adults’ OHIS; (4) facilitating older adults’ OHIS by explicating technology affordance; and (5) promoting and measuring the performance of OHIS interventions for older adults.

The information needs and behaviour of the Egyptian elderly living in care homes: An exploratory study

The purpose of this study is to investigate the information-seeking behaviour of the Egyptian elderly, including their information needs. A sample of 63 elderly people living in care homes was taken. It was divided into five focus groups. Of the 63 elderly people, 40 were men (63.5%) and 23 women (36.5%). Almost half (47.6%) ranged in aged from 61 to 70. About a quarter (23%) of them held a high school diploma. The highest percentage (28.6%) was labelled as average-income people. The highest percentage (60.3%) was also found to be widows or widowers. The types of information used most by the Egyptian elderly related to physical, medical/health, social, rational and recreational needs. Their information sources varied between formal and informal sources. Nearly two-thirds (63.5%) of them showed that limited knowledge, lack of interest, poor information awareness, aging, loneliness and health problems were the most significant obstacles they faced when seeking information.

Older adults’ eHealth literacy and the role libraries can play

This study examined the eHealth literacy, health knowledge, health behavior of a population of older Chinese adults, and the impact of using library or community activities for health information seeking. A survey was conducted among 215 participants 45 years or older. Data were analyzed using chi-square test, one-way analysis of variance, bivariate correlation, and multiple regression. The results showed that participants who were urban residents, non-farm workers, and had 9 years of education or more were more likely to use the library or community activities for health information seeking. Health behavior had a significant relationship with eHealth literacy and health knowledge. Both eHealth literacy and health knowledge showed a significant positive relationship with using the library or community activities for health information. These results support the idea that libraries play an important role in providing high-quality eHealth literacy services to enhance healthy behavior and health outcomes in their communities.