E-health literacy in older adults: an evolutionary concept analysis

Sun Ok Jung,Yoon Hee Son,Eunju Choi

doi:10.1186/s12911-022-01761-5

Sun Ok Jung, Yoon Hee Son + Show 1 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1186/s12911-022-01761-5

Copy DOI

Abstract

BackgroundInternet technologies have become important for older adults to not only seek, understand, and evaluate information on health management but also apply and share acquired knowledge. Despite the disparity in e-health literacy among older adults, which affects health outcomes, its conceptual definition has not been distinctly clarified in previous studies. This study aimed to analyse the concept of e-health literacy among older adults and to identify its contexts in the nursing field.MethodsWe identified concepts, attributes, antecedents, and consequences of e-health literacy in older adults using Rodgers’ evolutionary approach to various fields of study, time, and cultural differences. A literature search was conducted using the National Assembly Library, Research Information Sharing Service, National Digital Science Library, DataBase Periodical Information Academic, PubMed, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature, Excerpta Medica database, and Cochrane.ResultsA total of 28 studies were included, and we categorised the following three attributes: active information seeking, two-way interactive communication, and information utilization/sharing. The antecedents included personal factors, health status, socioeconomic factors, cultural factors, and attitudes toward the Internet while the consequences included increased health interest, health behaviour promotion, and active decision-making.ConclusionsAs e-health literacy in older adults affects their health and quality of life, this study clarifies the concept and provides a conceptual framework for nursing practice and research. Further studies are needed to identify and expand the constantly evolving concept of e-health literacy in older adults.

Highlights

Internet technologies have become important for older adults to seek, understand, and evaluate information on health management and apply and share acquired knowledge
Definition of e‐health literacy To understand the attributes of e-health literacy in older adults, we confirmed the definition of the term used in each study and identified how the term changed over time (Table 1)
We identified the attributes of the concept through the question, ‘What are the consistent characteristics of e-health literacy in older adults?’ The identified attributes of e-health literacy in older adults are active information seeking, two-way interactive communication, and information utilization and sharing (Fig. 2, Table 2)

Summary

Introduction

Internet technologies have become important for older adults to seek, understand, and evaluate information on health management and apply and share acquired knowledge. Despite the disparity in e-health literacy among older adults, which affects health outcomes, its conceptual definition has not been distinctly clarified in previous studies. This study aimed to analyse the concept of e-health literacy among older adults and to identify its contexts in the nursing field. The global life expectancy in 2019 was 73.4 years, and healthy life expectancy was 63.7 years [2]. In this context, older adults likely prioritise a healthy life over a mere extension of their lifespan. In the 2000s, electronic health (e-health) was defined as the use of emerging

Objectives

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion