THE EFFECTS OF A THEORY-BASED PATIENT PORTAL ELEARNING PROGRAM FOR OLDER ADULTS WITH CHRONIC ILLNESSES

The high prevalence of chronic illnesses is a serious public health problem in the U.S., and more than 70 million older adults have at least one chronic illness. Although patient portals (PPs), a federally supported health information technology, have been shown to be effective in managing chronic illnesses, low PP adoption rates in older adults were addressed as a particular concern. Lack of support for older adults using PPs remains a critical gap in most implementation processes. Previously, our research team developed and pilot-tested 3-week Theory-based Patient portal eLearning Program (T-PeP) for older adults. The main aim of the study was to assess the impact of T-PeP on PP knowledge, selected health outcomes (self-efficacy for PP use and health decision-making and health communication) and PP use in older adults. A two-arm RCT was conducted with older adults (N=272) who have chronic conditions. Participants were recruited online and data were collected at baseline, 3 weeks, and 4 months. The main intervention effects were tested using linear mixed models. The average age of participants was 70.0 + 8.5 years and 78.3% (n=213) were white. At 3 weeks, the intervention group showed significantly greater improvement than the control group in all outcomes, except PP use. At 4 months, the intervention effects decreased, but PP self-efficacy remained significant (p=.006) and PP use showed a significant increase in the intervention group (p=.029). Further studies are needed to test the long-term effects of T-PeP on health behaviors and clinical outcomes using more diverse samples.