Older consumers' perceptions of health care information sources: the effect on search behavior.

Substantial evidence has been developed regarding the identity of health care information sources preferred by the elderly. However, this research has not empirically investigated why a given source might be more or less important to this segment. To address this gap, this research investigates OTC-health care information sources in terms of their credibility, expertise and associated risk. Differences in perceptions of these characteristics across the derived information source types are then examined across heavy and light users of OTC medications.