Geriatric Research Education and Clinical Center, Veterans Administration Palo Alto Health Care System, Palo Alto University, Palo Alto, Calif., USA.
Gerontology. 2012;58(2):164-70. doi: 10.1159/000329340. Epub 2011 Jul 5.
Adults aged 65 years and older stand to benefit from the accumulating wealth of Internet-based health resources, including online interventions to assist in the self-management of chronic health conditions. However, concerns have been expressed that lesser Internet use and familiarity among older adults may limit the utility of web-based health interventions in older age groups. As these interventions become more prevalent, it is important to understand older adults' receptivity to using the Internet as a tool in managing healthcare.
The purpose of the present study was to gauge the extent to which older primary care patients are receptive to using web-based health resources, and to explore how health-related Internet use may be related to patient characteristics such as age, income, and health and mental health status.
We surveyed 50 adults aged 65 years and older in a Veterans Administration primary care clinic regarding: (1) Internet use for any purpose, (2) Internet use to obtain health or mental-related information, and (3) interest in using Internet-based interventions to address various health-related needs. A substantial proportion of respondents were in their 70s, 80s, and 90s, and many had multiple medical conditions.
Nearly three-quarters of older primary care patients in our sample were regular Internet users and over half had experience in using the Internet to search for health information. The majority of Internet users endorsed an interest in using web-based resources to manage various aspects of their health and mental healthcare.
Our results support the conclusion that older primary care patients, including those among the oldest-old and those with multiple medical conditions, are amenable to using the Internet as a means of enhancing healthcare.
年龄在 65 岁及以上的成年人可以从基于互联网的健康资源的积累中受益，包括在线干预措施，以帮助他们自我管理慢性健康状况。然而，人们担心老年人上网的频率较低，对互联网的熟悉程度较低，这可能会限制老年人使用基于网络的健康干预措施。随着这些干预措施的普及，了解老年人是否愿意将互联网作为管理医疗保健的工具变得非常重要。
本研究旨在评估年长的初级保健患者对使用基于网络的健康资源的接受程度，并探讨与健康相关的互联网使用与患者特征（如年龄、收入以及健康和心理健康状况）之间的关系。
我们在退伍军人管理局的一家初级保健诊所对 50 名年龄在 65 岁及以上的成年人进行了调查，内容包括：（1）使用互联网的任何目的，（2）使用互联网获取健康或心理相关信息，以及（3）对使用基于互联网的干预措施来满足各种健康相关需求的兴趣。我们的样本中有相当一部分受访者年龄在 70 多岁、80 多岁和 90 多岁，许多人患有多种疾病。
我们样本中的近四分之三的年长初级保健患者是经常上网的，超过一半的人有过使用互联网搜索健康信息的经验。大多数互联网用户都表示有兴趣使用基于网络的资源来管理他们健康和心理健康的各个方面。
我们的研究结果支持这样的结论，即年长的初级保健患者，包括最年长的老年人和患有多种疾病的患者，愿意使用互联网作为增强医疗保健的一种手段。
