eHealth literacy intervention for family caregivers of older adults: a literature review

• Published in: Asian journal of gerontology and geriatrics 2019-06, Vol.14 (1), p.45-46
• Main Authors: Lo, Sally Wai-sze, Tam, Sara Ka-yi
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Caregivers; Information technology; Intervention; Knowledge; Literacy; Older people; Skills; Telemedicine
• ISSN: 1819-1576; 1819-1576

Background and Aim: One of the biggest challenges among family caregivers is being involved in the health-related decision making about their older family members. Given the abundance of health information in electronic media, family caregivers may not be able to correctly interpret and apply the information to make health-related decisions for their older family members. The concept of eHealth literacy focuses on the skills and knowledge required for obtaining, processing, and understanding health information retrieved from electronic media. There is a lack of interventions to promote eHealth literacy among family caregivers of older adults. Therefore, this review aimed to systematically explore the literature on eHealth literacy intervention for family caregivers of older adults. Methods: English-language studies in the past 10 years from online databases and registries were searched in July 2018. Data were extracted from selected articles. Studies with interventions delivered to caregivers of children were excluded. The primary outcome was the level of eHealth literacy. Secondary outcomes were knowledge of caregiving and caregiver's strain. Findings: Eight articles were identified and screened. Three of them met the inclusion criteria and were reviewed. eHealth literacy interventions may potentially increase the level of eHealth literacy, improve caregiver's outcome, and facilitate the decision-making process for family caregivers of older adults. The most common mode of delivery was internet-based training. Conclusion: Although eHealth literacy intervention may potentially benefit family caregivers of older adults, there are limited empirical data on its effectiveness. Development of interventions to improve eHealth literacy and ease caregiving stress is pertinent to help family caregivers to cope with the demanding caregiving role. Further trials examining the effectiveness of internet-based eHealth literacy intervention are required.