| The purpose of this research was to describe how older adult internet users from selected senior centers in Korea accessed and used health information on the internet and the perceived barriers that prevented internet use. Based on the Access to Information framework developed by McCreadie and Rice, this quantitative study with a qualitative adjunct used the modified Kaiser Family Foundation Survey as the basis for structured interview of a convenience sample of 91 community-dwelling older adults recruited from ten randomly selected small and large senior centers. The results of quantitative and qualitative analysis supported that participants in these centers who were internet users were younger, more educated, male, had a higher income, and received more support from other families or friends. None of the participants from small centers had ever used the internet, while 43.3% of participants from large multipurpose senior centers has used the internet. Half of older internet users (54.2%) had used online health information. All of the internet user participants who had ever accessed online health information (N = 13) agreed that the online health information was helpful. Barriers to internet use cited by participants who had never used the internet were: no interest (90.8%); too complicated (75%); no experience in using internet (∼50%); too expensive (∼50%); or disability (10%). Additionally, qualitative findings revealed one of the biggest reasons for nonuse of the Internet was related to literacy and level of education which was attributed to educational and experiential background. |
