Abstract
The association between e-Health literacy and health behaviors in elderly people
Hyunju Ryu
Department of Nursing
The Graduate school
Seoul National University
Directed by Professor Chang Sunju, PhD, RN
Korea's internet penetration rate is ...
Abstract
The association between e-Health literacy and health behaviors in elderly people
Hyunju Ryu
Department of Nursing
The Graduate school
Seoul National University
Directed by Professor Chang Sunju, PhD, RN
Korea's internet penetration rate is the highest among OECD countries. As of July 2017, 99.5% of all households in Korea have access to the internet. Moreover, the proportion of internet users among the elderly population aged ≥65 years is increasing annually. A plethora of health-related information is available on the internet and thus, it becomes important to evaluate the quality of such information from the perspective of ease of understanding and applicability. Hence, it is necessary to investigate the ability of the elderly population to understand health information available on the internet. This research was conducted as a basic data to promote the health behaviors of the elderly.
This research was a descriptive correlation study. The aim of this research is to investigate the correlation between e-Health literacy and health behaviors in elderly people. The samples population for this research comprised individuals who had enrolled in a senior welfare center in Seoul and were ≥65 years. The research was aimed at elderly individuals who searched the internet for health information within the past 1 month. In July 2018, a total of 99 elderly people were recruited for this research.
The collected data were analyzed using SPSS 23.0 statistical program. The demographic characteristics of the subjects were expressed as mean, standard deviation, frequency, and percentage. The normality test was performed using the Shapiro-Wilk test, and the differences between the variables according to general characteristics were analyzed using independent t-test and ANOVA. Pearson's correlation coefficient was used to examine the correlation between variables. Post-test analysis was conducted using Scheffe test, and the reliability of the instrument was calculated using Cronbach's alpha value. We conducted a hierarchical regression analysis to examine the effects of demographic characteristics, e-Health literacy, computer anxiety, subjective health status, and internet-based health information reliability on health behaviors. Based on the theoretical framework of this research, a regulated regression analysis was conducted to determine whether the reliability of internet-based health information regulates the effect of e-Health literacy on health behavior. The results are as described below.
First, the ability of the elderly to understand internet-based health information was 29.99 points from a total of 40 points. Among 10 items, the highest average score was 3.92 points for finding health information on the internet and the lowest average score was 3.52 points for evaluating the quality of internet-based health information. Second, difference in the understanding ability of internet-based health information with respect to age group, sex, and education level, which encompass demographic characteristics of our subjects, was not statistically significant. Third, e-Health literacy differed according to the experience of internet users'. The group of subjects who maximally used the internet, i.e., prolonged and more frequent use of the internet per day, had higher e-Health literacy than the groups who minimally used the Internet. Fourth, e-Health literacy positively correlated with the health status, attitude toward internet-based health information, and health behaviors of subjects. Fifth, the effect of e-Health literacy on health behavior was greater depending on subjective health status and the understanding of internet-based health information of each subject; furthermore, women more frequently engaged in health behaviors than men. However, subjective health status and internet-based health information did not significantly influence the effects on health behaviors.
In this research, it was found that e-Health literacy of the subjects had a positive correlation with their health behavior as well as statistically significant effect on health behavior. The results of this research will serve as the basic data, which can be used while planning an intervention program to improve the understanding of internet-based health information keeping the characteristics of elderly people in mind.
Keywords : e-Health literacy, health behavior, elderly people, internet-based health information, association
Student number : 2017-22935