Gender Differences in ICT Acceptance for Health Purposes, Online Health Information Seeking, and Health Behaviour among Estonian Older Adults during the Covid-19 Crisis

Marianne Paimre, Marianne Paimre, Kairi Osula

2022

Abstract

ICT tools play an important role in accessing health information today. Although health ratings have improved in Estonia, the inequalities in women's and men's health continue to persist. As consumption of relevant information creates favourable preconditions for better health behaviour, it is paramount to study gender differences regarding online health information seeking and its relations to health behaviour. This article focuses on gender differences in ICT acceptance for health purposes, online health information seeking, and health behaviour choices among Estonian older adults. A survey involving 204 men and 297 women aged 50 and over living in Estonia was conducted in the summer of 2020. Cross-tabulation and chi-square tests were used to analyse the retrieved data. The results indicate that women prioritised remote communication with a medical doctor more during the Covid-19 crisis while men were more eager to use digital applications for health purposes. The latter also reported better access to computers and smart devices allowing them to conduct online health information searches more conveniently. Men also stood out for their readiness to be vaccinated against Covid-19. Thus, their interest in digital health information should be given due consideration when developing various health services and apps along with national health communication strategies.

Paper Citation

in Harvard Style

Paimre M. and Osula K. (2022). Gender Differences in ICT Acceptance for Health Purposes, Online Health Information Seeking, and Health Behaviour among Estonian Older Adults during the Covid-19 Crisis. In Proceedings of the 8th International Conference on Information and Communication Technologies for Ageing Well and e-Health - Volume 1: ICT4AWE, ISBN 978-989-758-566-1, pages 134-143. DOI: 10.5220/0011089400003188

in Bibtex Style

@conference{ict4awe22,
author={Marianne Paimre and Kairi Osula},
title={Gender Differences in ICT Acceptance for Health Purposes, Online Health Information Seeking, and Health Behaviour among Estonian Older Adults during the Covid-19 Crisis},
booktitle={Proceedings of the 8th International Conference on Information and Communication Technologies for Ageing Well and e-Health - Volume 1: ICT4AWE,},
year={2022},
pages={134-143},
publisher={SciTePress},
organization={INSTICC},
doi={10.5220/0011089400003188},
isbn={978-989-758-566-1},
}

in EndNote Style

TY - CONF

JO - Proceedings of the 8th International Conference on Information and Communication Technologies for Ageing Well and e-Health - Volume 1: ICT4AWE,
TI - Gender Differences in ICT Acceptance for Health Purposes, Online Health Information Seeking, and Health Behaviour among Estonian Older Adults during the Covid-19 Crisis
SN - 978-989-758-566-1
AU - Paimre M.
AU - Osula K.
PY - 2022
SP - 134
EP - 143
DO - 10.5220/0011089400003188