Chinese Community eHealth Day as a venue to introduce in-language health information and Technology trends among the older (50+) Chinese immigrant population

As minority populations have recognized Internet as an accessible source for health information, Chinese community lags in this area. Although Asian Americans have high rates of Internet access (82%) among all US ethnic groups, access does not translate to usage among Chinese immigrants who are 50 and older. This program was specifically tailored for older Chinese immigrants with these objectives: (1) Promote national technology trends in health information delivery (2) Teach basic computer, Internet, and mobile message skills, enabling access to online health information (3) Increase community awareness of credible online in-language health information (4) Increase access of available in-language health information (5) Involve youth to bridge the generation gap. Chinese Community Health Resource Center (CCHRC) held an eHealth Day to bridge the technology divide for older Chinese immigrants. Seminars covered basic technological skills, eHealth trends, and accessing credible online health information. Youth volunteers provided individual computer and mobile skill instruction to encourage learning and bridge generation gap. eHealth Day drew 600 participants and 60 youth volunteers from SF Bay Area, 69% of participants completed program evaluations (n=414). Responses indicated interest to increase knowledge regarding eHealth (77%), in-language online health information (71.3%), and access to online health resources (56.5%). Results demonstrated skills gained in computer (75.2%), Internet (78.3%) and mobile text usage (23.7%) as well as awareness of credible online, in-language health information (35.1%). Promoting health through technology can be a venue to bridge the digital gap among older (50+) Chinese immigrants and adapted for other ethnic groups.