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Over half of older adult Internet users search for health information online, a number likely to continue to climb. To design a better online environment for older adults, we need to understand how they search for health information online. In an observational study, 17 older adults aged from 56 to 78 completed four health related online search tasks. Through recordings of search activities, "think aloud" audio recorded data, interviews and questionnaires, we identified multiple key issues regarding older adults' search behavior for online health information, including: 1) using insufficient search queries to search for complex search constructs; 2) misunderstanding different Web browser and webpage search tools (e.g., address bar, search bar, webpage search boxes); 3) extensive reliance on prior knowledge in performing searches; and 4) a lack of ability to evaluate the quality of online health information. These findings have implications for developing design and educational interventions for older adults.
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Huang et al. (2012) studied this question.
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