Overview
Project status: In progress
The proposed project has two aims.
- Firstly, it will develop a model of health information literacy for ageing Australians.
- Secondly, it will establish a national Health Information Literacy Framework that can be used by health and information agencies (such as the Health Contact Centre, the project's industry partner) as an evidence-based tool to guide the design and development of information resources and services to support the specific needs of ageing Australians.
Together the model and framework will be used to help Australians to develop their information skills and knowledge so they can become more proactive in their health choices and in consequence learn how to age well, age productively.
- Grantor
- This project is funded by the Australian Research Council.
- Research leader
- Research team
- QUT
- Organisational unit
- Lead unit Science and Engineering Faculty
- Start date
- 1st July 2010
- End date
- 1st July 2013
- Keywords
- health information literacy, ageing, phenomenography, information experience, qualitative research
Contact
-
Professor Helen Partridge
Professor Helen Partridge
Professor Sylvia Edwards
Professor Christine BruceDetails
By 2056 it is estimated that 1 in 4 Australians will be aged 65 years or over. While Australians are living longer than ever before, an increasing number of people are affected by chronic disease such as diabetes and obesity. Chronic diseases are now responsible for around 80% of the total burden of disease in Australia (Department of Health and Ageing, 2008). Many of these diseases can be prevented or minimised by better health choices.
To achieve a Healthier Future for all Australians the National Health & Hospitals Reform Commission (2009) suggests that Australians need to be encouraged to take greater responsibility for their own health, and start making healthier decisions. The Commission's interim report released in December 2008, notes that 3 out of every 5 Australians do not have the knowledge and skills required to understand and use information to manage their own health and in consequence, to make suitable health choices.
This is a significant observation given that the report also includes an acknowledgement that a higher level of information skills and knowledge has been associated with better health outcomes.
Participants in this study therefore will be ageing Australians. A 2003 study published by the Prime Minister's Science, Engineering and Innovation Council (PMSEIC) suggests that in considering ways to improve health it is useful to consider issues as they apply to three generations of ageing people:
- the middle age (aged 45-64)
- the younger old (aged 65-79)
- the older old (80 years and over).
The report concluded that "these three age groups tend to have different needs, expectations and priorities" (PMSEIC, 2003, p. 6).
The proposed research will conduct two sub-studies based upon participant age - the middle age (aged 45-64) and the younger old (aged 65-79).
Partnerships
This project is being conducted collaboratively by QUT, Griffith University and the Queensland Health Contact Centre.
Publications and output
Key resources communicating the project results will be added here, as they become available.
Yates, Christine, Partridge, Helen L., & Bruce, Christine S. (2009) Learning wellness : how ageing Australians experience health information literacy. The Australian Library Journal (ALJ), 58(3), pp. 269-285. (Version accepted for publication).
