Health Questions asked by Older Adults to CDC-INFO: Lessons from across the Nation

CDC-INFO is a proactive, unified, and integrated approach to the delivery of public health information. CDC-INFO is designed to contribute to improving the health and safety of the public. Customers are defined as any individual or group seeking health or public health information from CDC. This includes the public, media, medical and healthcare professionals, public health professionals, partner groups, businesses, researchers, and others. Customer interactions occur through multiple channels, e.g., telephone calls, e-mails, and the website and may occur in Spanish, English or TTY.

The study involved examination of inquiries from adults aged 65 and older to CDC-INFO during November – January 2009. All inquirers are offered the option to participate in a brief automated survey at the conclusion of their contact with CDC-INFO. Older adult respondents numbered 1,036 (7.7% of all respondents in the study; N=13,466). The evaluation employed both qualitative and quantitative methodologies. Questions asked by inquirers were recorded verbatim; hence qualitative analysis was necessary in order to group questions into meaningful categories. Multivariate analyses were conducted using variables from an OMB-approved measure in order to examine characteristics contributing to older adult respondent rating of the quality and delivery of public health information. Predictors of desirable and less desirable outcomes will be presented.

A paper on the Health Questions Asked by Older Adults will be presented, documenting lessons learned from audience research and the implications for engaging in public health education with adults over the age of 65 years.