Assessing the eHealth Literacy Skills of Older Adults: A Preliminary Study

The purpose of this study was to assess the ability of older adults (ages 55–69) to access, use, and understand online health information, known as eHealth literacy skills. Forty-eight older adults (mean age range = 60–65 years) participated. Participants’ expressed low confidence in their perceived ability to evaluate the quality of health web sites (48%, n = 23) and apply the information retrieved in making health-related decisions (52%, n = 25). Potential avenues for promoting user confidence to retrieve trustworthy health information could support the eHealth literacy skills in this population.