The impact of sense of coherence and e-health literacy on health anxiety in elderly women: A cross-sectional study

Abstract

Objectives: This study investigates how sense of coherence and e-health literacy impact health anxiety among elderly women residing in Richmond Hill, Ontario, Canada. Understanding these relationships can help guide interventions aimed at reducing health anxiety in this demographic group. Methods and Materials: The research was a cross-sectional study involving 350 elderly women, selected from the population of Richmond Hill via available sampling method. Standardized tools, including the Health Anxiety Inventory, the Sense of Coherence Scale, and the e-health Literacy Scale, were employed to assess e-health literacy. The sample size was determined based on Morgan and Krejcie’s table and targeted sampling was used. Data analysis included Pearson correlation to evaluate the relationships between variables and multiple linear regression to identify predictors of health anxiety, conducted using SPSS version 27. Results: Results indicated that sense of coherence (r = -0.35, p < 0.001) and e-health literacy (r = -0.42, p < 0.001) were significantly negatively correlated with health anxiety. Regression analysis showed that both predictors significantly contributed to the model, with e-health literacy having a stronger impact (β = -0.42, t = -7.89, p < 0.001) compared to sense of coherence (β = -0.43, t = -7.00, p < 0.001). The model explained 22% of the variance in health anxiety (R2 = 0.20, F = 4.89, p = 0.003). Conclusion: The study demonstrates that both sense of coherence and e-health literacy significantly reduce health anxiety among elderly women. Enhancing digital health skills and reinforcing psychological resilience may be effective in mitigating health-related anxiety in this population.