This study focused on elderly individuals who experience difficulties in communication and aims to provide therapeutic and caregiving services for them. The purpose of this research is to qualitatively improve the health information communication abil ...
This study focused on elderly individuals who experience difficulties in communication and aims to provide therapeutic and caregiving services for them. The purpose of this research is to qualitatively improve the health information communication abilities of the elderly and ultimately provide and establish a platform that supports the elderly in actively and proactively coping with their health issues.
Among the four sufferings experienced by the elderly, namely, suffering from illness, loneliness, poverty, and inactivity, the issue of illness is closely related to the increase in healthcare expenses for the elderly. The prevalence of chronic diseases among the elderly is nearly 90%, and compared to younger age groups, the prevalence of multiple chronic diseases among individuals aged 65 and above is 4.96 times higher, with a 5.71 times higher rate of excessive healthcare utilization. Despite the high prevalence of chronic diseases among the elderly, their accessibility to accurate information for health management is known to be lower than that of other groups. In particular, the abundance of health-related information through various channels such as TV, radio, online videos, personal social media, and commercial advertisements can lead to information overload. Different interpretations from experts regarding the same symptoms, the presence of misinformation, lack of awareness about the exact nature of their own problems, and the absence of individuals who can effectively convey or provide detailed information all contribute to the reduced accessibility of health information for the elderly, which directly relates to health information communication. While it is inevitable for the elderly to face suffering from illness, the timely provision of health management services can alleviate the social burden of increasing healthcare expenses for the elderly and is an essential measure for their own healthy lives. The key to providing and utilizing such health management services lies in the elderly's health information communication abilities.
Health information communication ability refers to the ability to accurately understand and interpret health information and medical services, based on which rational decisions regarding health-related matters can be made. Due to the aforementioned communication difficulties, the elderly's ability to understand and interpret information related to health, public health, and medical services is diminished, hindering the proper acquisition and utilization of health information. Ignorance about what information is necessary to improve their health status, where to obtain that information, and how to access it leads to unmet needs for essential health information, which can have fatal consequences for the elderly's health.
In this regard, this study developed a diagnostic tool that enables the assessment of individual elderly individuals' health information communication abilities and identification of their unmet health information needs. This tool was integrated with an education program for healthcare providers to develop a customized Cure+Care+Edu Platform (CCEP). The platform aims to enhance the health information communication and utilization abilities of the elderly and improve the health information communication and provision abilities of healthcare providers, ultimately enhancing the elderly's proactive health management capabilities. To achieve this, the research team developed a health literacy diagnostic tool for the elderly and identified unmet health information needs among the elderly in the local community. Based on this, they promoted the improvement of the elderly's health information communication abilities through educational interventions. Additionally, guidelines for communication and an education program were developed to enhance the healthcare providers' understanding of the elderly's health information communication abilities and enable them to provide tailored health information, thereby enhancing their professionalism and capabilities.
These efforts have contributed to the qualitative improvement of the elderly's health information communication abilities and the promotion of their proactive health management capabilities. Moreover, since the elderly need the ability to read, interpret, and apply health information in order to take care of their own.