Abstract:

[Purpose/Significance] As China enters the threshold of an aging society, the health problem of the elderly group has become the focus of attention from all walks of life. The demand for health information among this group has increased dramatically, not only because of the physiological changes associated with aging, but also because they have high expectations of how health information can improve their quality of life. As a unique branch in the field of information behavior, the research on the health information behavior of the elderly presents specific complexity in its object, phenomenon and mechanism. The acquisition, processing and application of health information has a profound impact on the health behavior of older people, particularly the potential for inappropriate drug use and overuse of drugs, which is often closely linked to their health information behavior. Therefore, in-depth research in this area is urgent and important. [Methods/Process] Based on the topic differentiation perspective, this paper conducted a comprehensive and in-depth literature review on the occurrence mechanism, internal influencing factors (such as cognition, emotion, social support, etc.) and external environment (such as family, community, and medical system) of health information behavior of older people. This review aims to identify the status quo, hot spots and shortcomings of current research, and to provide a valuable reference frame of reference and inspirational direction for future research. [Results/Conclusions] The study found that there were significant differences between the concerns of the elderly and the young and middle-aged in health information behavior, mainly reflected in the preferences for types of health information and factors influencing health information behavior. There are also large differences between urban and rural areas, social backgrounds at different stages of development, different social characteristics (such as educational background, economic status), individual characteristics (such as age, gender, health status) and health information behaviors in different scenarios. In terms of study objects, future studies can design experiments with control groups to explore more precisely the specific differences in health information behaviors of older people at different stages of development and with different characteristics. In terms of research content, we should broaden our horizons and introduce a variety of theoretical models in combination with the trend of social development, so that the research field not only covers a wider area, but also improves the depth of research. In terms of research methods, future research should actively explore new perspectives, adopt innovative research methods, such as the survey experiment method, and try to combine modern technical means, such as big data analysis and artificial intelligence to obtain more comprehensive and accurate data resources, while exploring and developing new research methods and analysis tools to promote the continuous in-depth development of research in this field.

Key words: health information, older people's health information behavior, literature review