Trust in Health Information Sources Differs between Young/Middle and Oldest Old

Abstract

Purpose.

Examine differences in trust of health information sources between the oldest old and young/middle old.

Design.

Cross-sectional survey using convenience sampling.

Setting.

Eleven retirement communities.

Subjects.

Older adults ≥ 65 years (N = 353).

Measures.

Self rated trust in health information sources.

Analysis.

Mann-Whitney U-test or Fisher exact test to compare trust between age groups; multinomial ordered logistic regression analyses to model trust in Internet information sources.

Results.

The overall survey response rate was 26.6%. Differences in trust were identified between oldest old (n = 108) and young/middle old (n = 245) for pharmacist (p < .05), Internet (p < .001), television (p < .05), radio (p < .001), and newspaper (p < .05) sources. In the oldest old, we found associations between levels of trust in Internet sources and frequency of Internet use (β = 4.13, p < .001).

Conclusion.

Understanding where differences in trust arise can inform the design of resources to support the information-seeking process. When planning widespread distribution of health information to these distinct groups, program developers need to consider these differences.

Keywords

Aged Information Seeking Behavior Health Promotion Prevention Research Manuscript format research Research purpose: descriptive,instrument development Study design: nonexperimental Outcome measure: cognitive,behavioral Setting: local community,clinical health care Health focus: intellectual health,medical self-care,social health Strategy: education,culture change,behavior change Target population: seniors Target population circumstances: education/income level,race/ethnicity

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