Theory-based E-health literacy interventions in older adults: a systematic review

BACKGROUND: e-health literacy can facilitate the uptake of benefits of health for older adults. In this review, we aimed to tabulate the types and outcomes of the theory-based e-health interventions that had been applied to improve the e-health literacy of older adults. METHODS: In this systematic review, theory-based e-health literacy interventions that published up to April 2020 were retrieved from several online electronic databases, including Medline via PubMed, Cochrane Library, ProQuest, and EMBASE. The published papers were included in this study, if the study had been conducted on older adults, a theory-based intervention aimed at promoting e-health literacy, and had been written in English language in the timeframe of 2008–2020. RESULTS: A total of 1658 records were identified initially, of which, 12 articles met the inclusion criteria. The systematic review identified the using of variety of intrapersonal, interpersonal, and societal level conceptual models in enhancing of e-health literacy in older adults, and the concept of self-efficacy was applied in the most of interventions as the main conceptual theoretical framework. CONCLUSIONS: Despite the paucity of conceptual models, which are specifically designed for e-health literacy interventions, based on our findings, we recommend self-efficacy as a powerful concept that can play an important role in improving e-health literacy in older adults.