Ninth International Conference on Health, Wellness & Society

Abstract

Estonia, sometimes called the “European Silicon Valley,” is often referred to as one of the most advanced countries in the field of information technology where citizens have digital access to all public services. These services include e-voting, e-tax board, e-business, e-banking, e-ticket, e-school, university via internet, the e-governance academy, as well as the release of several mobile applications. E-health is a prime example of such state-of-the-art programmes set out to improve public health by offering new preventive measures and increasing the awareness of patients. My presentation focuses on the ability of elderly people in Estonia to benefit from the highly acclaimed national e-health system and to retrieve health related information from the online environment. A focus group interview with the senior citizens that was the first step to study patterns of online health information behaviour of Estonians elderly revealed that elderly often lack the skills and experience necessary to search for online health information as well as cope with e-health solutions. My study confirmed that, the wholesome public image of Estonia’s e-success does not always correspond to the reality. Fortunately, the first steps have been taken nationally to eliminate the digital divide, for example, the government has allocated millions to teach the elderly to use the internet and IT tools. In addition to improving the lives and e-literacy among senior citizens, I suggest bolstering the role of health and social workers as well librarians to bridge the digital divide in the realm of online health information.