Universal Journal of Public Health Vol. 1(3), pp. 103 - 109
DOI: 10.13189/ujph.2013.010309
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Developing and Validating an eHealth Communication Belief Inventory (eHealth-BI) among Chinese Middle-and Older-Age Adults

Su-I Hou^1,*, Peng-Hsi Hou^2
1 Department of Health Promotion and Behavior, College of Public Health, The University of Georgia, Athens, GA, 30602, United States
² Industrial Engineering and Management, The National Taipei University of Technology, Taiwan

ABSTRACT

Purpose: As the world population rapidly aging, especially in Asia, and “the graying of the Internet”, opportunities of eHealth communication among middle-and older-age adults warrants more attention. Methods: The eHealth communication survey was administered to employee age 40+ in two major worksites in Taiwan. The development and validation of a 7-item eHealth communication belief inventory (eHealth-BI) by age groups were examined. Results: A total of 533 employees participated (mean age = 46.21 (SD=5.01) years). The reliabilities of the eHealth-Pros (4-items) and the eHealth-Cons (3-items) measured by Cronbah alphas were satisfactory in both age groups (40-49 and 50-64 years), demonstrating sufficient internal consistencies among items. Confirmatory factor analysis showed that all items were loaded significantly on these two eHealth-BI sub-scales with good model fits. Males and those with college education overall were more likely to perceive higher benefits and lower barriers towards eHealth communication. Conclusion: Findings provide needed validation on this new theory-based bi-lingual eHealth-BI tool. Results provide health researchers and practitioners an important tool to measure beliefs towards eHealth communication for better understanding of system design needs, and for effective eHealth communication intervention development among middle-and older-age Chinese adults.

KEYWORDS
eHealth Communication, Belief Inventory, Instrument Validation, Middle-and Older-Age Adults, Workplace, Taiwan

Cite This Paper in IEEE or APA Citation Styles
(a). IEEE Format:
[1] Su-I Hou , Peng-Hsi Hou , "Developing and Validating an eHealth Communication Belief Inventory (eHealth-BI) among Chinese Middle-and Older-Age Adults," Universal Journal of Public Health, Vol. 1, No. 3, pp. 103 - 109, 2013. DOI: 10.13189/ujph.2013.010309.

(b). APA Format:
Su-I Hou , Peng-Hsi Hou (2013). Developing and Validating an eHealth Communication Belief Inventory (eHealth-BI) among Chinese Middle-and Older-Age Adults. Universal Journal of Public Health, 1(3), 103 - 109. DOI: 10.13189/ujph.2013.010309.