Socialising boosts health 'literacy'

Wednesday November 26th, 2014

Older adults can maintain a good understanding of health if they regularly use the internet and take part in social events, researchers say today.

Age-related changes in the brain risk compromising the ability of older people to utilise the health care system, warn Lindsay Kobayashi of University College London, UK, and colleagues.

Health literacy can be defined as "the degree to which individuals have the capacity to obtain, process and understand basic health information and services needed to make appropriate health decisions," say the researchers in the Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health.

They investigated whether health literacy during ageing can be influenced by technological and social factors. Information was taken on 4,368 men and women aged 52 years or older from 2004/2005 and 2010/2011.

Initially, the rate of adequate health literacy was high, at 73%, but by the end of follow-up, this had fallen 19%. About 32% undertook "consistent internet use", and these participants appeared to be significantly protected against health literacy decline.

The same was seen for "consistent engagement in cultural activities" such as visiting the cinema, art galleries, museums and the theatre. The number of such activities was directly linked to maintenance of health literacy.

"Support for older adults to maintain socially engaged lives and to access the internet should help promote the maintenance of functional literacy skills during ageing," the authors state.

They warn that low levels of health literacy in older adults is linked to poorer self-care, raised risk of emergency services, and an increased risk of death overall.

Kobayashi, L. C. et al. Internet use, social engagement and health literacy decline during ageing in a longitudinal cohort of older English adults. 26 November 2014 doi: 10.1136/jech-2014-204733 [abstract]

Tags: Brain & Neurology | Elderly Health | UK News

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