Health Information Literacy of the Older Adults and Their Intention to Share Health Rumors: An Analysis from the Perspective of Socioemotional Selectivity Theory

Abstract

Health rumor promises to resolve uncertainty or provide new insight into important health-related phenomena. Older adults who are more concerned about health issues are plagued by the health rumors more seriously. Why do older people prefer to share health rumors and how to protect the elderly from online health rumors are becoming a new public health concern. This study attempts to understand the health information behavior of the elderly from the perspective of socioemotional selectivity theory (SST), and to find out the possible relationship between health information literacy and health rumor sharing intention of the older adults. The results showed that health information literacy and knowledge acquisition goal were negatively related to the intention to share health rumors while emotion regulation goal had a positive influence on it. Interaction effects were also significant between the independent variables and the dependent variable. In the process of aging, the competition between knowledge acquisition goal and emotion regulation goal will play an important role in the information behaviors of individuals. Health information literacy not only helps the older adults to identify health rumors to avoid spreading them but also guides the elderly to avoid deception of false information and make incorrect health decisions.