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@article{ Lam2012, title = {Health information-seeking behaviour on the Internet and health literacy among older Australians}, author = {Lam, Mary K. and Lam, Lawrence T.}, journal = {Electronic Journal of Health Informatics}, number = {2}, pages = {1-7}, volume = {7}, year = {2012}, issn = {1446-4381}, urn = {https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:0168-ssoar-92875-7}, abstract = {Objective: This paper investigates the relationship between health information-seeking behaviour on the Internet and health literacy in the population of older Australians. Methods: Data was obtained from the Adults Literacy and Life Skills (ALLS) Survey conducted in 2006. Health literacy was assessed using a specific scale designed to measure health literacy proficiency. Internet usage for health information seeking purposes was elicited from responses to a direct question. Data were analysed using simple unweighted logistic modelling techniques with stratification by education levels. Results: Older people with medium level of education and had a higher health literacy proficiency were 4 times as likely to be frequent users of the Internet for the purposes of searching for health information (OR=3.7, 95%C.I.=1.3-10.3), and about 3 times as likely to be infrequent users, (OR=2.6, 95%C.I.=1.6-4.4) when compared to non-users. For higher education levels, only infrequent usage was significantly associated with health literacy. No relationships were found for lower education levels. It is important that health-related information for older people is offered according to their comprehensive ability. Conclusions: The results obtained suggest that there is a significant interaction effect between health information-seeking behaviour on the Internet and education levels, on health literacy. For those who had attained a post-secondary education level, there were significant associations between the exposure and outcome variables in a progressive manner with the strength of associations increasing from infrequent users to frequent users. This suggested a dose-response relationship between exposure and outcome.}, keywords = {Australien; Australia; Gesundheitserziehung; health education; Kompetenz; competence; alter Mensch; elderly; Information; information; Gesundheitsverhalten; health behavior; Internet; Internet}}