In this final health literacy themed session, Pam McKinney here live blogging from Day 2 of the ECIL conference. Heidi Enwald presented a research project focusing on older adults funded by the academy of Finland. The project looked at adults aged 55-70, who have an increasing need to access and manage health information - Personal health information management is the term used to describe this activity. Older age is associated with barriers to using technology and digital services.
Based on a systematic review it was identified that there is little research on the storing and management of health information. This project used a postal survey issued to 1500 individuals aged 55-70 in Finland. Questions looked at health information management and in, used both users and non-users of eHealth services. 345 responses were received, 60% were women. This presentation focuses on 2 open-ended questions on the survey. Some answers were quite short.
People were asked about how they store health information, storing information in paper format was still popular, papers were stored in boxes and diaries at home, and digital information was printed for preservation. Preparing for a doctor’s appointment was one reason for checking the information or bringing the papers with them to the appointment “just in case”.
Some people stored their own information about their health e.g. their blood pressure on paper. If people moved house a lot there was an increased need to record information in paper format at home. Others did not see a need to record their own health information - this is the job of the doctor. The management of medicine was seen to be the most concerning aspect of health management.
At the end of the questionnaire people were asked to imagine what an e-health service would look like. Some were happy with the status quo and could not imagine new services. Some thought they had no need for digital health services. Wishes and development ideas focused on ideas such as fixing mistakes quickly, and to have access to video services from home, a fast internet connection was vital for this. The need for services to adapt to ageing patients was seen to be important, people were worried about not keeping up with technological developments. Findability and presentation of information was seen to be important, and the need to maintain human contact and face-to-face in order to address loneliness and mental health problems.
So the study showed that older adults had divided views about ways to manage their health information, and the use of digital health services. A good digital health service should contain versatile health information. People valued physical contact with health professionals. People need health information literacy in order to manage their health information.
Photo by Pam McKinney
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