More Informed, More Involved: The Roles of Psychological Empowerment and Health Literacy for Older Patients’ Participation in Health Care

• In Event: Adolescents, Family, Aging: High Density Panel in Health Communication

Abstract

Older adults are a growing number of patients who have experienced a socio-political change in patient-provider relationships. Traditionally, doctors were expected to decide for patients and patients were expected to be passive recipients of medical care (Ballard-Reisch, 1990). Over the past decades, patients have been more and more encouraged to play an active and autonomous role in healthcare and specifically in medical decision-making (Charles, Gafni & Whelan, 1997; Frosch & Kaplan, 1999; Karell, 2007; Xie, 2009; Raue & Sirey, 2011, Tariman et al., 2014). The aim of the study is to investigate the impact of psychological empowerment and health literacy on older patients’ willingness to participate in medical treatment.

Authors

• Gabriele Sak, Universita' della Svizzera Italiana

• Fabia Bianca Rothenfluh, U della Svizzera italian

• Peter J. Schulz, U della Svizzera italian