Abstract
According to the literature, health-related factors, such as health status, health anxiety, and health literacy, are established contributors to self-efficacy, but the relationship between electronic health literacy and self-efficacy is less known. The present study examines electronic health literacy in relation to self-efficacy among community-dwelling older adults in the United States. For this aim, cross-sectional survey data were collected between September 2022 and March 2023. The survey dataset consisted of 191 responses from individuals ages 65 or older. Analyzed with hierarchical linear regression, the dataset provided information about survey respondents’ sociodemographic status, perceived health status, health anxiety, electronic health literacy, and self-efficacy. It also revealed that electronic health literacy was positively related to self-efficacy, and health anxiety was negatively related to self-efficacy, with sociodemographic status and perceived health status controlled. As such, improving older adults’ electronic health literacy can help them maintain self-efficacy, and the improvement should be made, especially in the domains of evaluating health information found on the internet and making decisions based on the information.
Details
Presentation Type
Theme
KEYWORDS
HEALTH LITERACY, DIGITAL LITERACY, HEALTHCARE, DIGITAL DIVIDE, OLDER POPULATION
