Older Adults, Health Information, and the World Wide Web

Older Adults, Health Information, and the World Wide Web is devoted to the exploration of how the World Wide Web might be used to deliver current, easily accessible health information to adults over the age of 60 and their caregivers. The book considers how age-related changes in vision, cognitive function, and motor skills affect the delivery and comprehension of health information. The volume is divided into four separate sections. Within these sections, individual chapters: *trace the increasing use of the Web by older adults and offer suggestions on how use can be increased; *discuss federal government initiatives on increasing use of the Web by older adults; *offer guidelines that might be applied to Web site design for older adults; and *describe actual projects in which older adults utilize the Web for various outcomes. Intended for health care providers, health service providers, and older adults and their caregivers, this book is also of interest to researchers in aging, cognition, and human factors.

Contents: Preface. Part I: An Overview of Older Adult's Use of the Web: Government and Practical Concerns.T. Wetle, The Use of New Information Technologies in an Aging Population. D.A.B. Lindberg, Older Americans, Health Information, and the Internet. D. McConatha, Aging Online: Toward a Theory of e-Quality. R.W. Morrell, C.B. Mayhorn, J. Bennett, Older Adults Online in the Internet Century. Part II: Issues Facing Web Designers for Older Adults.K.V. Echt, Designing Web-Based Health Information for Older Adults: Visual Considerations and Design Directives. S.E. Mead, N. Lamson, W.A. Rogers, Human Factors Guidelines for Web Site Usability: Health-Oriented Web Sites for Older Adults. B.J. Holt, R.W. Morrell, Guidelines for Web Site Design for Older Adults: The Ultimate Influence of Cognitive Factors. Part III: Examples of Online Projects With Older Adults.D. Lansdale, Touching Lives: Opening Doors for Elders in Retirement Communities Through E-mail and the Internet. K. Wooten, What to Put on a Web Site: A Study in Setting Policy and Guidelines. T.P. Benjamin, Seniors and the Internet. B.J. Holt, Gerotechnology: Providing Service Access to the Elderly. L.D. Hsu, M.J. Deering, Evaluating a Government Web Site Serving Seniors. E.E. Baum, C. Yoder, Senior Support Online. Part IV: In Conclusion.R.E. Morgan, Jr., Older Adults, Health Information, and the World Wide Web: A Conference Retrospective.