HEALTH INFORMATION SEEKING FOR ELDERLY CARE THROUGH ONLINE MEDIA AMONG FAMILY CAREGIVERS IN A RURAL COMMUNITY, THAILAND

Abstract

Family caregivers (FC) are the key persons responsible for the health of the elderly, and they need sufficient health information to provide elderly health care. However, a few studies on online social media were used among FC in Thailand. Therefore, this study aims to assess health information seeking for elderly care by FC through online media. The descriptive study was conducted in 11 rural communities. FC refers to a family member responsible for unpaid care of the elderly and has lived with the elderly for more than six months. Based on simple random sampling, the sample size calculated requires 310 samples. The study tool was a questionnaire, in which Cronbach's alpha was 0.89. The data were collected by well-trained interviewers. The statistics used were frequency, percentage, t-test, and ANOVA. The response rate was 91.18%. This study found that most of the FC were female, completed secondary school and higher, married, and still working. This study discovered mean score of health information seeking through online media of 2.08 (SD 1.02) (95%CI 2.69, 2.92). This study also found that age group, elderly care training in the last three months, education level, elderly care knowledge obtained from nurses through communication applications on electronic devices, online video sharing applications, and social media platforms were statistically significant with health information sought through online media. To strengthen health information seeking by FC through online media, all related factors we found were suggested for intervention or further study.