Investigating Information Needs of Elderly People in Chinese Rural Community: Presenting an Information Service Framework

Investigating information needs of elderly people could find out information required to address needs of the aged in a community to present an information service framework to meet their needs. Using data collected from 600 elderly people through field investigation with a questionnaire in a rural community in central China, the results show that the preferred information format of the vast majority of elderly people is audio and/or visual information product, especially audio product. Most of interviewees stated that they were in need of healthy and medical audio information products. The survey maybe lead to improved and expanded information services for respondents who are short of such services, including Public broadcasting services, extending the audiovisual collection, loaning audiovisuals, religious faith audiovisuals and others providing needed information to them. This paper assembles together views on what the elderly people currently need to be helped by both practitioners and researchers in the elderly people services domain.