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The Internet: an underutilized tool in patient education
Computers in Nursing
|February 16, 2000
Summary
Internet training significantly boosted senior citizens' confidence in managing their health online. Many continued searching for health information and discussed it with doctors, leading to increased treatment satisfaction.
Area of Science:
- Health Informatics
- Gerontology
- Digital Health Literacy
Background:
- Patient education is being transformed by internet technology.
- Empowering senior citizens to actively participate in their healthcare is crucial.
- The
- Train-the-Trainer
- model can be effective for disseminating digital health literacy skills.
Purpose of the Study:
- To assess the impact of internet-based health information seeking training on senior citizens.
- To evaluate seniors' confidence and ability to use the internet for health information.
- To determine if training enhances patient engagement and communication with healthcare providers.
Main Methods:
- A two-stage pilot study involving 100 senior citizens (average age 69).
- A
- Train-the-Trainer
- approach where 20 trainers instructed 100 senior trainees.
- Data collected through pre- and post-training assessments and a 90-day follow-up.
Main Results:
- Training positively impacted seniors' confidence in computer/internet use and online health searches.
- 66% of trainees continued internet use, with 47% searching for health information.
- Over half of those discussing online findings with physicians reported increased treatment satisfaction.
Conclusions:
- Internet training empowers senior citizens to become active participants in their healthcare.
- Digital health literacy interventions can improve patient-provider communication and treatment satisfaction.
- Findings have implications for nursing education, emphasizing the need to integrate digital health literacy training.