Designing a Browser Extension for Reliable Online Health Information
Retrieval Among Older Adults Using Design Thinking
Abstract
The pervasiveness of online mis/disinformation escalated during the
COVID-19 pandemic. To address the proliferation of online
mis/disinformation, it is critical to build reliability into the tools
older adults use to seek health information. On average, older adult
populations demonstrate disproportionate susceptibility to false
messages spread under the guise of accuracy and were the most engaged
with false information about COVID-19 across online platforms when
compared to other age-groups. In a design-thinking challenge posed by
AARP to graduate students in a Digital Health course at Tufts University
School of Medicine, students leveraged existing solutions to design a
web browser extension that is responsive to both passive and active
health information-seeking methods utilized by older adults in the
United States. This paper details the design-thinking process employed,
insights gained from primary research, an overview of the prototyped
solution, and insights relating to the design of effective health
information-seeking platforms for older adults.