ArticleJMIR infodemiology
The Moderating Role of Community Capacity for Age-friendly Communication in Mitigating Anxiety of Older Adults During the COVID-19 Infodemic: Cross-sectional Survey.
Article in JMIR infodemiology. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.
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Who cites it
3 citing papers in PubMed.
- Understanding Vaccine Hesitancy in Louisiana Through Social Media Listening and Community Feedback: Cross-Sectional Study.JMIR infodemiology · 2026Article
- Acceptance of Social Networking Sites by Older People before and after COVID-19 Confinement: A Repeated Cross-Sectional Study in Chile, Using the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB).International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Article
- Neighborhood Environment and Mental Well-Being Among Chinese Older Adults: The Mediating Role of Social Capital.Innovation in aging · 2022Article
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Authors and funding
8 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Background: Older adults were perceived as a vulnerable group during the COVID-19 pandemic due to the health and mental health challenges they faced. The pandemic was accompanied by an "infodemic" of overabundant and questionable information that has affected older adults' mental health. As the infodemic and ageist narratives were prevalent online, more anxiety symptoms have been induced among older adults who used social media. Age-friendly communication, advocated by the World Health Organization's Age-friendly City (AFC) guide, could be an antidote by providing tailored information via appropriate channels for older adults. Objective: This study investigated the role of community capacity for age-friendly communication in mitigating anxiety during the pandemic. We hypothesized that age-friendly communication would moderate the effects of infection risks and social media use on anxiety. A double-moderating effect was hypothesized in the context of diminished trust in traditional media. Methods: Data were collected from a cross-sectional telephone survey conducted in Hong Kong in 2020. Older adults (N=3421, age≥60 years) were interviewed about their well-being and daily lives. Community capacity for age-friendly communication was measured in a living district-based evaluation. It had 2 components: the reach of appropriate information to older adults (AFC-Information) and the age-friendliness of communication technologies (AFC-Communication Technology) in the community. We tested the hypothesized moderation and double-moderation effects with ordinary least squares regressions. Results: Perceived COVID-19 infection risk (b=0.002, Conclusions: Our findings highlight the role of community age-friendly communication in mitigating anxiety related to the infodemic. Although using social media may have exacerbated the impact of the infodemic on older adults, it has the potential to deliver timely information for an adequate health response. Although the amplifying effects of low media trust was associated with social media use, age-friendly communication determined its strength. Instead of discouraging the use of digital technologies for COVID-19 information, efforts should be made in tailoring information and communication technologies in local communities for older adults.
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