Health information-seeking behavior among older adults with oral frailty: a latent profile analysis and associated factors

Objective This study aimed to identify latent profiles of health information-seeking behavior (HISB) among older adults with oral frailty and examine factors associated with profile membership. Methods A cross-sectional survey was conducted among 420 older dental outpatients with oral frailty who were recruited from a tertiary dental referral hospital in Chengdu, Sichuan Province, China. Self-reported data on sociodemographic characteristics, oral health-related behaviors, HISB, eHealth literacy, health-promoting behaviors, and social support were collected. Latent profile analysis (LPA) was used to identify distinct HISB profiles. Factors associated with latent profile membership were examined using the automatic R3STEP procedure in Mplus, which accounts for uncertainty in latent class assignment. Results A three-profile solution was selected: the “low engagement-low barrier” profile ( n = 42, 10.00%), the “moderate-balanced” profile ( n = 277, 65.95%), and the “high motivation-high barrier” profile ( n = 101, 24.05%). Compared with the “low engagement-low barrier” profile, Employee Basic Medical Insurance was associated with higher odds of membership in the “moderate-balanced” profile ( aOR = 7.419, 95% CI : 2.569–21.421) and the “high motivation-high barrier” profile ( aOR = 7.622, 95% CI : 1.987–29.241). Higher eHealth literacy and perceived social support were also associated with membership in more engaged profiles, including the “high motivation-high barrier” versus “low engagement-low barrier” comparison for eHealth literacy ( aOR = 1.380, 95% CI : 1.208–1.577) and perceived social support ( aOR = 1.244, 95% CI : 1.125–1.374). Less frequent toothbrushing and no dental scaling were associated with lower odds of membership in the more engaged profiles. Conclusion HISB was heterogeneous among hospital-recruited older dental outpatients with oral frailty. These observational findings suggest that eHealth literacy, social support, oral health behaviors, and healthcare access may be relevant targets for future prospective intervention studies.