Abstract
“Baby Boomers” (adults born between the years of 1946 and 1964) make up the largest segment of the population in many countries, including the United States (about 78 million Americans) [1]. As Baby Boomers reach retirement age and beyond, many will have increasing medical needs and thus demand more health care resources that will challenge the healthcare system. Baby Boomers will likely accelerate the movement toward patient self-management and prevention efforts. Consumer Health Information Technologies (CHIT) hold promise for empowering health consumers to take an active role in health maintenance and disease management, and thus, have the potential to address Baby Boomers' health needs. Such innovations require changes in health care practice and processes that take into account Baby Boomers' personal health needs, preferences, health culture, and abilities to use these technologies. Without foundational knowledge of barriers and opportunities, Baby Boomers may not realize the potential of these innovations for improving self-management of health and health outcomes. However, research to date has not adequately explored the degree to which Baby Boomers are ready to embrace consumer health information technology and how their unique subcultures affect adoption and diffusion. This position paper describes an ecological conceptual framework for understanding and studying CHIT aimed at satisfying the personal health needs of Baby Boomers. We explore existing literature to provide a detailed depiction of our proposed conceptual framework, which focuses characteristics influencing Baby Boomers and their Personal Health Information Management (PHIM) and potential information problems. Using our ecological framework as a backdrop, we provide insight and implications for future research based on literature and underlying theories represented in our model.
Highlights
Baby Boomers have growing health demands that will challenge the US system
We propose that the quality of healthcare for aging Baby Boomers hinges as much on the development, promotion, and delivery of personal health information as it does on enhancing health care services
Baby Boomers matured in a time of growth and change in the United States, and throughout their lives, the sheer size of this generation significantly impacted various facets of society [18] including health care
Summary
Baby Boomers have growing health demands that will challenge the US system. In 2011, the first Baby Boomers reached age 65; beginning what is called the ―gray tsunami.‖ Many of these individuals will have increased medical needs as they age, and demand more health care resources than other segments of the population. Due to their sheer numbers, experts anticipate the need for a larger workforce who can care for this aging population, as well as ways to make care more efficient [2]. The need for better tools to support patient self-management of health and information will increase substantially
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
