Healthy aging is a consequence of multiple factors, including health literacy, which is best guaranteed through access to low-cost information and flexible community building in both the real and virtual worlds. Today, the internet can encourage health literacy and health-related social interactions with others. When internet access or technological skills are absent, however, as is sometimes the case in the older population (aged 65 years and above), obstacles arise to using the internet as a source of health information. Nevertheless, older adults—who often contend with multimorbidity constraints that limit their ability to visit local health services—increasingly use the internet, and health-related information and interactions on the internet have the potential to help them in their direct (local) environments by providing them with essential support to maintain healthy aging by augmenting their contextual and individual resources. In this context, a key question concerns whether older adults accept and use online health information and interact online with health professionals and other older adults who have the same health-related questions. This project seeks to answer that question by evaluating the needs of older adults as well as the potential barriers to accessing online health information and using health-related social interaction tools. With the findings, we aim to conceptualize a regionally oriented website framework for healthy aging by fostering collaboration between health services stakeholders and senior organizations, self-help groups, and, most importantly, older people.
The project has two main research goals: first, to empirically examine older adults’ needs, reflections, and potential acceptance of health-supporting online solutions and the usability of those solutions as well as the requirements, conditions, and perspectives of providers of health prevention programs; second, to analyze the framework conditions supporting such a digital solution and the barriers to it. To achieve these goals, we will adopt a mixed-methods approach comprising four components. Following intensive desk research and scientific sounding-board meetings, we will conduct a representative survey (including all of Switzerland’s language regions) of people aged 65 years or older in Switzerland (N = 1,200) to evaluate their needs and the acceptability and potential barriers related to an online solution that advances health literacy through online health-related information and social interaction. Subsequently, we will involve older adults, nonprofessional caregivers, and local stakeholders by employing the qualitative method of participant workshops. Ultimately, we will summarize our findings and formulate concrete recommendations for action by policymakers and municipalities. This project can enhance our understanding of digital technologies’ barriers and potential for providing support for healthy aging and fostering a sense of engagement in a healthy community of older adults. The results will also enrich scientific and public discussions of the possible barriers and benefits related to digital environments for the promotion of healthy aging.
As the digitization of healthcare services is characterized by an increasing trend towards new technologies in the coming years, it is planned to repeat the survey as part of a new project application.
1.4.2023 – 31.3.2026