Remember the times when your doctor called you with the results of your medical tests? Well, those days are gone.
Thanks to the internet, we now have medical results at our fingertips through online patient portals. But, for our elders, this digital evolution might be more of a challenge than a help.
Bumpy Ride on the Digital Health Highway
A study from the University of Houston shows that older adults are struggling more than their younger counterparts when it comes to using online health portals.
The research suggests that while seniors are starting to use these portals more, they are having more problems navigating them.
Professor Steven Paul Woods, who reported on the study in the Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society, stated that older adults are making more mistakes when using online patient portals to view their lab results, communicate with healthcare providers, or schedule appointments.
The study found that cognitive function plays a big role in these difficulties.
Woods, along with former doctoral student Anastasia Matchanova, carried out the research with two age groups – younger adults (18-35 years old) and older adults (50-75 years old).
They had these participants use a test website to perform tasks like logging in, reviewing lab results, reading messages from providers, and scheduling appointments.
The participants were also evaluated for their cognitive abilities, health literacy, and day-to-day functioning.
The Cognitive Aspect
Using the internet for health-related tasks requires a combination of skills that often decline with age, Woods explained.
These include visual and motor skills to navigate a page, memory for passwords and search terms, and problem-solving skills to achieve specific goals online.
As online patient portals become more common, it’s crucial to make sure they are user-friendly for older adults and others who may face cognitive challenges.
Previous and Future Work: In a past study, Woods found that people with HIV had difficulty using online health portals due to cognitive problems.
The current study expands this to include older adults, who may also face challenges with other online daily tasks like managing finances or booking transport.
The findings from these studies could eventually help develop ways to make online health management and other internet-based tasks easier for older adults and other vulnerable groups.
Woods suggests that future studies could look at how website design changes and individual support (like training) could make it easier for older adults to navigate online health portals.
The goal is to make sure the digital health evolution is a help and not a hurdle for our older adults.
If you care about brain health, please read studies about how the Mediterranean diet could protect your brain health, and Omega-3 fats and carotenoid supplements could improve memory.
For more information about brain health, please see recent studies about antioxidants that could help reduce dementia risk, and flavonoid-rich foods could improve survival in Parkinson’s.
The study was published in the Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society.
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