title: Use of Patient Portals for Personal Health Information Management: The Older Adult Perspective.
abstract: The personal health information management (PHIM) practices and needs of older adults are poorly understood. We describe initial results from the UW SOARING project (Studying Older Adults & Researching Information Needs and Goals), a participatory design investigation of PHIM in older adults (60 years and older). We conducted in-depth interviews with older adults (n=74) living in a variety of residential settings about their management of personal health information. A surprising 20% of participants report using patient portals and another 16% reported prior use or anticipated use of portals in the future. Participants cite ease of access to health information and direct communication with providers as valuable portal features. Barriers to the use of patient portals include a general lack of computer proficiency, high internet costs and security concerns. Design features based on consideration of needs and practices of older adults will facilitate appeal and maximize usability; both are elements critical to adoption of tools such as patient portals that can support older adults and PHIM.
authors.affiliation: University of Washington, Seattle, WA.
authors.forename: Anne M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Turner
authors.affiliation: University of Washington, Seattle, WA.
authors.forename: Katie
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Osterhage
authors.affiliation: Group Health Research Institute, Seattle, WA.
authors.forename: Andrea
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hartzler
authors.affiliation: University of Washington, Seattle, WA.
authors.forename: Jonathan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Joe
authors.affiliation: University of Washington, Seattle, WA.
authors.forename: Lorelei
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.affiliation: University of Washington, Seattle, WA.
authors.forename: Natasha
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Kanagat
authors.affiliation: University of Washington, Seattle, WA.
authors.forename: George
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Demiris
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003142:Communication; D057286:Electronic Health Records; D063025:Health Information Management; D055991:Health Records, Personal; D006801:Humans; D020407:Internet; D008875:Middle Aged; D000072638:Patient Portals
keywords: Patient portals; health information management; older adults