Tallinn University, Tallinn, Estonia.
Tallinn Health Care College, Tallinn, Estonia.
Health Educ Behav. 2024 Aug;51(4):502-511. doi: 10.1177/10901981241249972. Epub 2024 May 7.
Despite the proven effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines in preventing severe illness, many individuals, including older adults who are most susceptible to the virus, have opted against vaccination. Various factors could shape vaccination decisions, including seeking health information (HI). The internet is the primary source of HI today; however, older adults are often referred to as those missing out on digital benefits. The study explores the correlations between information and communication technology (ICT) use, online HI seeking, socioeconomic factors, and COVID-19 vaccination readiness among individuals aged 50 and above in Estonia. The survey data were gathered from 501 people aged 50 and older after the first lockdown in 2020. The outcomes revealed that vaccination readiness positively correlated with factors such as higher educational attainment, greater income, male gender, access to ICT, a readiness to employ digital technologies for health-related purposes, a greater demand for HI, and a higher frequency of seeking it online. There was some discrepancy in the preference of HI sources; for example, vaccination consenters preferred online versions of professional press publications and specific health portals. Based on the findings, it is advisable to encourage older adults to utilize the internet and new technology for health-related purposes. This practice expands the range of information sources available to them, ultimately enabling better decision-making regarding their health behaviors.
尽管 COVID-19 疫苗已被证实能有效预防重症,但仍有许多人(包括最易感染该病毒的老年人)选择不接种疫苗。各种因素可能会影响接种决策,包括获取健康信息(HI)。互联网是当今获取 HI 的主要来源;然而,老年人往往被认为是无法享受到数字福利的群体。本研究旨在探讨爱沙尼亚 50 岁及以上人群中,信息和通信技术(ICT)使用、在线 HI 寻求、社会经济因素与 COVID-19 疫苗接种准备之间的相关性。该调查数据来自 2020 年首次封锁后 501 名 50 岁及以上的人群。研究结果表明,疫苗接种准备情况与教育程度较高、收入较高、男性、能够使用 ICT、愿意将数字技术用于健康相关目的、对 HI 的需求较高以及更频繁地在线寻求 HI 等因素呈正相关。在 HI 来源的偏好上存在一些差异;例如,接种同意者更喜欢专业新闻出版物和特定健康门户网站的在线版本。基于这些发现,鼓励老年人将互联网和新技术用于健康相关目的是明智的。这种做法扩大了他们可获取的信息来源范围,最终使他们能够更好地做出有关健康行为的决策。
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