Promoting Comprehension of Health Information among Older Adults

Jessie Chin, Jessica Johnson, Darcie D. Moeller, Elise Duwe, James F. Graumlich, Michael D. Murray, Elizabeth A.L. Stine-Morrow, Daniel G. Morrow

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contribution

Abstract

Understanding and acting on online health information is increasingly a pre-requisite for patient self-care. Therefore, inadequate health literacy is a barrier to self-care among older adults with chronic illness. The goal of our study was to improve older adults' comprehension of online health information. We extracted typical health texts from multiple credible health websites, and systematically improved the texts in terms of, content, language, organization and design. Results showed that older adults better understood the revised passages than the typical ones, in terms of their reading efficiency (time per unit of information uptake). Intervention benefits were greater for older adults with more domain-specific health knowledge, suggesting that knowledge facilitated the comprehension of health information in the revised texts. Implications for promoting older adults' comprehension of health information are discussed.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Title of host publicationProceedings of the 37th Annual Meeting of the Cognitive Science Society, CogSci 2015
EditorsDavid C. Noelle, Rick Dale, Anne Warlaumont, Jeff Yoshimi, Teenie Matlock, Carolyn D. Jennings, Paul P. Maglio
PublisherThe Cognitive Science Society
Pages375-380
Number of pages6
ISBN (Electronic)9780991196722
StatePublished - 2015
Event37th Annual Meeting of the Cognitive Science Society: Mind, Technology, and Society, CogSci 2015 - Pasadena, United States
Duration: Jul 23 2015Jul 25 2015

Publication series

NameProceedings of the 37th Annual Meeting of the Cognitive Science Society, CogSci 2015

Conference

Conference37th Annual Meeting of the Cognitive Science Society: Mind, Technology, and Society, CogSci 2015
Country/TerritoryUnited States
CityPasadena
Period7/23/157/25/15

Keywords

  • cognitive aging
  • comprehension
  • domain knowledge
  • health literacy
  • healthcare

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Computer Science Applications
  • Human-Computer Interaction
  • Cognitive Neuroscience

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