ArticleJMIR public health and surveillance2025
Mindfulness Intervention for Health Information Avoidance in Older Adults: Mixed Methods Study.
Article in JMIR public health and surveillance, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers.
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Who cites it
5 citing papers in PubMed.
- From information overload to health information avoidance among Chinese adults aged 50 years and above: the association of self-perceptions of aging and techno-exhaustion.BMC psychology · 2026Article
- Using latent class analysis to characterize a high-misconception profile for targeted health education among HBsAg-positive pregnant women in China.Frontiers in public health · 2026Article
- Latent obstacles in older adults' digital health participation: a community-based hybrid cluster analysis with natural language processing.BMC public health · 2025Article
- Effects of psychological resilience on social media information-sharing behavior in older adults: mediating role of technology anxiety and perceived enjoyment.Frontiers in psychology · 2025Article
- The impact of magnetic resonance imaging anxiety on treatment adherence.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2025Article
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Authors and funding
3 authors.
Funding
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Abstract
backgroundThe global aging population and rapid development of digital technology have made health management among older adults an urgent public health issue. The complexity of online health information often leads to psychological challenges, such as cyberchondria, exacerbating health information avoidance behaviors. These behaviors hinder effective health management; yet, little research examines their mechanisms or intervention strategies.
objectiveThis study investigates the mechanisms influencing health information avoidance among older adults, emphasizing the mediating role of cyberchondria. In addition, it evaluates the effectiveness of mindfulness meditation as an intervention strategy to mitigate these behaviors.
methodsA mixed methods approach was used, combining quantitative and qualitative methodologies. Substudy 1 developed a theoretical model based on self-determination theory to explore internal (positive metacognition and health self-efficacy) and external (subjective norms and health information similarity) factors influencing health information avoidance, with cyberchondria as a mediator. A cross-sectional survey (N=236) was conducted to test the proposed model. Substudy 2 involved a 4-week mindfulness meditation intervention (N=94) to assess its impact on reducing health information avoidance behaviors.
resultsStudy 1 showed that positive metacognition (β=.26, P=.002), health self-efficacy (β=.25, P<.001), and health information similarity (β=.29, P<.001) significantly predicted health information avoidance among older adults. Cyberchondria mediated these effects: positive metacognition (effect=0.106, 95% CI 0.035-0.189), health self-efficacy (effect=0.103, 95% CI 0.043-0.185), and health information similarity (effect=0.120, 95% CI 0.063-0.191). Subjective norms did not significantly predict health information avoidance (β=‒.11, P=.13), and cyberchondria did not mediate this relationship (effect=‒0.045, 95% CI ‒0.102 to 0.016). Study 2 found that after the 4-week mindfulness intervention, the intervention group (group 1: n=46) exhibited significantly higher mindfulness levels than the control group (group 2: n=48; M
conclusionsThis study reveals the role of cyberchondria in health information avoidance and validates mindfulness meditation as an effective intervention for mitigating such behaviors. Findings offer practical recommendations for improving digital health information delivery and health management strategies for older adults.
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