Effects of information framing cues and age on the comprehension of personal health records for self-care behaviors: an eye-tracking study.

Abstract

Objective: To examine the effects of message framing and visualization framing on the comprehension of personal health records and subsequent self-care behavioral intention among young and middle-older aged adults.

Materials and methods: A mixed design was employed with visualization framing (ie, black line graph, colored line graph, and colored area graph) and age (ie, young and middle-older aged adults) as between-group factors, and message framing (ie, gain and loss framing) as the within-group factor. Forty-eight participants were asked to comprehend a series of personal health records illustrated by different visualization framing and message framing formats. Data on comprehension performance, eye movement, and perception measures were collected.

Results: Visualization framing exerted a significant effect on task accuracy, with colored area graph yielding higher task accuracy than black line graph. Participants perceived worse health status and had stronger behavioral intention to seek professional healthcare advice with loss framing messages compared with gain framing messages. The age effects on task performance turned non-significant when education level was considered, which significantly influenced task accuracy. Age significantly interacted with both visualization framing and message framing. Middle-older adults were more accurate with colored graphs and were more quickly attracted by loss framing messages.

Discussion: Visualization framing appeared to play a more important role in user comprehension of personal health records compared with message framing. Color-based framing appears effective in facilitating comprehension, especially for middle-older aged adults. Education background may mediate how individuals in different age groups interpret health information with varied framing formats.

Conclusions: This study investigates how the framing of health information influences the comprehension and decision-making processes across different age groups. The findings provide valuable insights for guiding the interface design of health information systems, ensuring that critical health information can be communicated clearly and effectively to patients.