Introduction
Overview
Electronic health information plays a growing role in how individuals manage their health and interact with the health care system [1]. Online tools enable individuals to connect with others sharing similar health interests [2], participate in interventions [3], or find health services [4]. For instance, 72% of adult Internet users in the United States (US) have searched for health information online, while 35% of all US adults diagnosed a health condition online [1]. eHealth resources can help older adults manage chronic health issues, make informed health decisions, or communicate with their providers [3,4].
Problematically, older adults often lack the skills and knowledge necessary to use online health resources [5], and disability, chronic disease, or handicaps can make technology difficult to use. eHealth literacy refers to the “set of skills and knowledge that are essential for productive interactions with technology-based health tools” [6]. While 59% of adults age 65 and above go online, almost 29% of adults 65 and older perceived that a disability or chronic disease made technology use difficult [7], and only 3% of older adults have proficient health literacy [8]. Lower age and higher educational attainment correlate to higher eHealth literacy [9], suggesting that lower socioeconomic status (SES) older adults are particularly susceptible to low eHealth literacy. This disparity is significant because recent evidence indicates low health literacy correlates to poor health outcomes [10].
eHealth literacy interventions offer one solution for increasing older adults’ ability to access and use eHealth resources such as electronic health records, patient portals, online support groups, and self-management tools [3,4]. Prior reviews examined health literacy interventions for older adults [11], eHealth literacy among younger adults [12], health and eHealth literacy combined [13], and online health literacy interventions for all age groups that use experimental designs [14]. However, no known article has systematically reviewed eHealth literacy interventions for older adults. This article addresses this gap in the literature by providing a systematic review of the literature on eHealth literacy interventions for older adults.
eHealth and Health Literacy
Health literacy is “the degree to which individuals [can] obtain, process, and understand basic health information and services needed to make appropriate health decisions” [15]. This definition of health literacy contains two important elements: an individual’s ability to (1) comprehend health information, and (2) make appropriate decisions with health information. Health literacy evolved from the two distinct perspectives of clinical care and public health [16]. The clinical perspective positions health literacy as a causal factor that influences health outcomes [16]. From this perspective, poor health literacy influences patients’ adherence to clinical recommendations, which affects clinical outcomes [16]. In contrast, the public health perspective situates health literacy as an outcome of interest [16].
Building on the concept of health literacy, eHealth literacy emphasizes information and communication technologies’ (ICTs) growing role in health information. Examples of ICTs relevant to individuals’ health management include patient portals, telehealth systems, and online support systems. eHealth literacy requires a mix of health, information, scientific, media, computer, and Internet literacy [6]. Given ICTs’ rapid development, the skills, knowledge, and literacies that constitute eHealth literacy continually evolve [17]. As a result, individuals must continue to develop their skills and knowledge to maintain their eHealth literacy.
In this new (but growing) field, few studies have yet developed and tested eHealth literacy specific theories. Rather, eHealth interventions often use learning theory to guide interventions (eg, Xie [18-20]). These interventions consistently prove effective at improving older adults’ eHealth literacy, but their results suggest further theoretical development is necessary to advance the field. For instance, Xie [18,20] found no significant difference for learning outcomes between collaborative and individualistic learning conditions, despite the prediction of social interdependence theory (SIT) that suggested the superiority of collaborative learning over individualistic learning. Similarly, a cognitive theory of multimedia learning (CTML) predicts that tutorials presenting information in one modality (eg, visual only) should outperform tutorials presenting redundant information in multiple modalities (eg, visual and audio) [21]. However, an intervention testing this hypothesis with an eHealth tutorial for older adults found no significant difference for learning outcomes between two presentation methods (visual and audio; visual only) [20]. In both examples of interventions guided by learning theory, outcomes did not align with predicted outcomes, suggesting further theoretical development is necessary.
Aging-Related Issues
Older adults’ distinct characteristics may explain why learning theories have not generalized to eHealth literacy interventions. Cognitive aging examines age-related changes in cognition, such as reduced information processing speed or a diminished ability to coordinate and integrate information [22]. Cognitive aging studies consistently find negative linear associations between chronological age and cognitive performance [22]. Learning theories developed with younger adults (eg, SIT and CTML) do not account for the influence of cognitive aging, which may explain why these theories have not generalized to older adults. For instance, a Web-based tutorial that provides redundant information (eg, visual text and audio narration that present identical instructional content) may help compensate for age-related declines in working memory [23,24]. However, CTML does not account for the effects of cognitive aging and predicts redundant information decreases learning outcomes [25].
Diversity within the older population may also affect intervention outcomes. This diversity includes chronological age, along with race and ethnicity. Chronological age can range from 50 to over 100, while racial and ethnic minorities comprise 21% of the US population over age 65 [26]. This diversity suggests interventions effective for one portion of the aging population (eg, Hispanic adults over 80) may not generalize to other segments (eg, African-American adults under 65). Tailoring interventions offers one approach for ensuring instructional content matches each participant’s specific characteristics. Tailoring is “any combination of strategies and information intended to reach one specific person, based on characteristics that are unique to that person, related to the outcome of interest, and derived from an individual assessment” [27]. Tailored interventions have outperformed non-tailored interventions for participants with type 2 diabetes, hypertension, and physical activity [28,29]. However, no known study investigated tailored eHealth literacy interventions, indicating a significant opportunity exists for improving the efficacy of interventions.
A systematic review of eHealth literacy interventions for older adults can provide a foundation for improving intervention outcomes. A recent systematic review investigated health literacy interventions for older adults [11] but excluded large-scale experimental eHealth studies for older computer learners (eg, Xie [18-20]) and sampled only computer literate older adults [11]. Similarly, a prior review examined online health literacy interventions but is distinct from this systematic review in several key aspects [14]. First, the Car et al [14] review included only studies using randomized controlled trials (RCTs) or controlled before and after studies (CBA). In comparison, our systematic review analyzed a more comprehensive sample of studies including but not limited to RCTs or CBAs. Our broad scope is justified given the small number of existing studies on this topic. Second, the Car et al [14] review included only two studies in their study sample. This small sample size led Car et al [14] to conclude that they could not “draw any conclusions about the implications of [their systematic review] for the content or delivery of consumer Internet skill interventions” [14]. Third, the Car et al [14] review applied no exclusion criteria for study participants. In contrast, this systematic review focuses explicitly on the older population and excludes studies with participants age 50 and below. Our systematic review thus makes new contributions to the literature.
We address a significant gap in the literature by providing a more comprehensive review that includes eHealth literacy interventions with both computer literate and illiterate older adults. This approach is necessary because (1) many older adults lack computer literacy [7], (2) excluding computer illiterate older adults may exclude studies with SES participants because of this population’s low computer literacy levels [5], and (3) limiting the review to eHealth literacy interventions excludes health literacy interventions that use ICTs but do not use the term eHealth (eg, Neafsey et al [30]). The following research questions guide this review: (1) What intervention strategies have been used to improve older adults’ eHealth literacy?, (2) What strategies are found to be effective in improving older adults’ eHealth literacy?, and (3) What evidence supports the effectiveness of eHealth literacy interventions for older adults?