JMIR Publications

Background:

The rapid diffusion of the internet has decreased consumer reliance on health care providers for health information and facilitated the patients’ ability to be an agent in control of their own health. However, empirical evidence is limited regarding the effects of health-related internet use among older adults, which is complicated by the proliferation of online health and medical sources of questionable scientific accuracy.

Objective:

We explore the effects of health-related internet use, education, and eHealth literacy on medical encounters and patient-reported outcomes. Patient-reported outcomes are categorized into two dimensions: (1) self-reported health problem and (2) affective distress (feeling worried and anxious) due to information obtained. We were particularly interested in whether education and eHealth literacy moderate the association between perceived strain in medical encounters and patient-reported outcomes.

Methods:

Our study sample consisted of online panel members who have used the internet as a resource for health information, randomly drawn from one of the largest probability-based online research panels. This paper specifically reports results obtained from older panel members (age≥60 years: n=194). First, we examined descriptive statistics and bivariate associations (Pearson correlations and independent samples t tests). We used hierarchical ordinary least squares regression analyses by running separate regressions for each patient-reported outcome. In model 1, we entered the main effects. In model 2, technology and medical encounter variables were included. Model 3 added the statistical interaction terms.

Results:

Age (β=–.17; P=.02), gender (β=–.22; P=.01), and medical satisfaction (β=–.28; P=.01) were significant predictors of self-reported health problems. Affective distress was positively predicted by gender (β=.13; P=.05) and satisfaction with medical encounters (β=.34; P<.001) but negatively predicted by education (β=–.18; P=.03) and eHealth literacy (β=–.32; P=.01). The association between experiencing a health problem in relation to health-related internet use and perception of strained medical encounters was greater among respondents with lower levels of education (β=–.55; P=.04). There was also a significant interaction between education and eHealth literacy in predicting the level of affective distress (β=–.60; P=.05), which indicated that higher levels of education predicted lower averages of feeling anxiety and worry despite lower eHealth literacy. Older women reported higher averages of affective distress (β=.13; P=.05), while older men reported higher averages of experiencing a self-reported health problem (β=–.22; P=.01).

Conclusions:

This study provides evidence for the effect of health-related internet use on patient-reported outcomes with implications for medical encounters. The results could be used to guide educational and eHealth literacy interventions for older individuals.