e-Health literacy in ageing

ABSTRACT

Health literacy and e-health literacy, increasingly used to empower citizens, are crucial in the use of health services, as that can influence users in adopting preventive measures and making informed decisions in the management of their disease / health. In this study we assessed the knowledge, skills and perceived capacity in the use of electronic sources for the management of health problems, in older people. The results indicate that age is associated significantly with e-health literacy on a negative way (p<.01), and a predictive model of health e-literacy (F(_3,54)=10.5; p<.01) explained 36.9% of e- health literacy (R²= .369). This study points to the need to maximize concerted strategies to promote health literacy and e-health literacy thus giving the elderly equal opportunities to make healthy choices to increase health and wellness, towards a healthy aging.

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