POPULATIONS AT RISK ACROSS THE LIFESPAN:PROGRAM EVALUATIONS Searching Health Information Via the Web: Hong Kong Chinese Older Adults’ Experience Angela Leung, Peggy Ko, Kin Sun Chan, Iris Chi, and Nelson Chow ABSTRACT Objective and sample: This paper reports on the learning experience of 88 Chinese older adults who attended a health Web-navigating workshop. Design: Through a 3-hr training workshop, par- ticipants were guided to browse through seven health Web sites that provide authoritative health infor- mation by the Hong Kong government, academic institutions, or professional bodies. Methods: Upon completion of the workshop, an evaluation was made of the participants’ confidence in navigating health Web sites by themselves at home and in utilizing the health information sources. Results: The findings indicated that participants’ confidence in seeking health information via the Internet was not associated with their age, educational level, or experience of using computers before the workshop but was signif- icantly associated with their satisfaction with the workshop (po.05). Significant change of source of health information was noted at follow-up, suggesting that the workshop was successful. Conclusions: Im- plications of the results for running health Web-navigating programs among Chinese older adults are dis- cussed. Key words: confidence, health information, Hong Kong Chinese, Internet, older adults. In the 21st century, two trends, the graying of the population and the dissemination of health informa- tion via the Web, have emerged (VanBiervliet & Edwards-Schafer, 2004) and both are challenges to Chinese societies including that of the Hong Kong Spe- cial Administrative Region (HKSAR). The notion of ‘‘healthy aging’’ has been advocated in Hong Kong since 2001 and many steps have been taken to encour- age and equip older adults with the skills and knowl- edge to maintain good physical, psychological, and social health status. One strategy is to promote health- related learning so that older adults are enabled to gain the necessary knowledge for self-care and illness pre- vention. The most common method used to teach older people about health in Hong Kong is the conduct of health talks/seminars at general outpatient clinics and District Elderly Community Centers (DECC) and invit- ing health professionals to present their professional advice on television or radio. With the rapid develop- ment of the Internet and broadband, dissemination by this means seems to be another channel for health pro- motion among older adults. Angela Leung, Ph.D., R.N., is Teaching Consultant, Department of Nursing Studies, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, HKSAR, China. Peggy Ko, B.S. W., is Executive Secretary, Cyber- Senior Network Development Association Limited, HKSAR, China. Kin Sun Chan, Ph.D., is Assistant Professor, Department of Public Administration, The University of Macau, MSAR, China. Iris Chi, D.S. W., is Golden Age Association Frances Wu Chair for Chinese Elderly, School of Social Work and Davis School of Gerontology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California. Nelson Chow, Ph.D., is Chair Professor, Department of Social Work and Social Administration, The University of Hong Kong, HKSAR,China. Correspondence to: Angela Leung, Department of Nursing Studies, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong 4/F,William M.W. Mong Block, Faculty of Medi- cine Building,21 Sassoon Road, Pokfulam, Hong Kong, HKSAR,China. E-mail: angleung@hku.hk 169 Public Health Nursing Vol. 24 No. 2, pp. 169–175 0737-1209/r 2007, The Authors Journal Compilation r 2007, Blackwell Publishing, Inc.