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Abstract
Earlier studies clearly have shown that older adults are going online and accessing health information, but they are not a monolithic group. The goal of this study is to identify different types of older online Americans and to examine their online health information attitudes and behaviors. A total of 424 individuals age 55+ responded to an online survey. Three types of users were found based on demographic and computer-use factors: power users, well-to-do, and older men. Two types were found based on health attitudes and behaviors: health traditionalists and health technologists. The study found interesting relationships among these groups and also explored their use and evaluation of specific types of health-related websites and their motivations for going online. Suggestions are made for extending this research to other populations and further exploring the theoretical model of senior's online health interactions (SOHI) that drives the study.
The authors acknowledge funding from an American Academy of Advertising research grant.
Notes
1These items follow: I use Internet to find information for other people, I share information about technology with my friends and family, and other people turn to me for help with new technologies.
Note that the first correlation shown in each cell is for use of the source of health information. The second correlation is with quality rating for that source.
∗p < .01; ∗∗p < .001.
∗p < .01, ∗∗p < .001.