Examining the mediating roles of eHealth literacy dimensions between health status and well-being perspectives among seniors in the digital era

Background

There is a need to explore models of eHealth literacy that serve as mediators in the relationship between health status and well-being from multidimensional perspectives among the elderly population.

Aims

To examine series models in which eHealth literacy dimensions, including awareness of sources, recognizing quality and meaning, understanding information, perceived efficiency, and validating information, serve as mediators between health status and factors related to well-being, such as financial, physical, eudaimonic, and hedonic well-being.

Methods

This cross-sectional study included 437 Israeli seniors aged 65 or above and employed the eHEALS-E scale with six dimensions to assess eHealth literacy in the first section of the questionnaire. The second section utilized a well-being scale with five categories to measure financial, physical, social, eudaimonic, and hedonic well-being. Ethical approval was obtained from the Institutional Review Board (IRB).

Results

eHealth literacy dimensions such as understanding information, awareness of sources, validating information, and recognizing quality play a crucial role in mediating the relationship between health status and different aspects of financial, social, eudaimonic and hedonic well-being.

Conclusions

Interventions and educational programs are needed to focus on enhancing eHealth literacy, specifically targeting the dimensions of understanding information, awareness of sources, validating information, and recognizing quality. By improving these eHealth literacy dimensions, individuals' financial well-being, social well-being, and overall eudaimonic and hedonic well-being can be positively influenced.