Experimenting on the impact of learning methods and information presentation channels on older adultsʹ e-health literacy

A theory-driven, older adult-oriented e-health literacy intervention was developed and tested to generate scientific knowledge about the potential impact of learning methods and information presentation channels. The experimental design was a 2 × 2 × 2 mixed factorial design with learning method (collaborative, individualistic) and presentation channel (visual only, visual plus auditory) as the between-subjects variables and time of measurement (pre-, post-) as the within-subjects variable. One hundred twenty-four older adults (age: M = 68.15, SD = 9.00) participated during September 2010–February 2011. No significant interaction or main effect of learning method and information presentation channel was found, suggesting the advantages of collaborative learning over individualistic learning or the redundancy effect might not be easily generalized to older adults in similar experimental conditions. Time of measurement had significant main effects on e-health literacy efficacy, perceived usefulness of e-health literacy skills, and e-health literacy skills (p <.001 in all three cases; power = 1.00 or .98). These findings suggest that the intervention, regardless of its specific combination of learning method and information presentation channel, was effective in improving e-health literacy from pre- to postintervention. The findings contribute to the collaborative learning, multimedia learning, and e-health literacy literatures.