Developing and Evaluating a Website to Guide Older Adults in Their Health Information Searches: A Mixed-Methods...

Area of Science:

• Gerontology
• Health Informatics
• Digital Health Literacy

Background:

• Older adults face challenges navigating online health information.
• Effective digital health literacy interventions are crucial for this demographic.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and evaluate an online program, "Your Health Online: Guiding eSearches," aimed at enhancing older adults' ability to identify high-quality web-based health information.
• To assess the program's impact on knowledge, self-efficacy, and user experience compared to a traditional tutorial.

Main Methods:

• Mixed-methods approach including focus groups and interviews to inform program design.
• Randomized controlled trial comparing the online program to a slide-based tutorial.
• Evaluation of usability, learning, self-efficacy, and knowledge.

Main Results:

• Experimental group rated the online program significantly higher for usability and learning than the control group's tutorial.
• No significant differences were observed in knowledge or self-efficacy between groups.
• Participants in the experimental group believed the program would improve future health searches.

Conclusions:

• The "Your Health Online" program demonstrates potential for improving the user experience of online health information seeking among older adults.
• Future studies should investigate the long-term impact on actual health search behavior, ehealth literacy, and health outcomes.