Technology-Mediated Health Activities: An Exploratory Study on Older Adults

摘要

This research aims to investigate how older adults make use of technologies for health-related activities. We conceptualize technology-mediated health activities as two distinct behaviors, namely 'Health Decision Support' and 'Health Management'. Drawing on prior research at the intersection of older adults' health IT acceptance, we explore how technology-related beliefs, individual differences in IT, and health-related factors jointly determine these two activities. Based on an empirical study among adults aged 60 and above, our study contributes to research on consumer health IT by 1) exploring a target group that might benefit most from eHealth, 2) by revealing that these eHealth behaviors are differently determined, and 3) by re-examining the important roles health related factors play in eHealth acceptance.