Background:

The internet has revolutionised the way we communicate, understand and participate in health information. The shift from print to digital media across the board reiterates the power and rapid advance of online technology. There is cause for concern around the negative impacts of low digital literacy upon individual health, particularly for vulnerable groups of women.
Women’s Health in the South East aims to produce a simple sexual health mobile APP with the design and content informed by the needs and challenges older women and Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CALD) women face in regards to digital and health literacy.

Methods:

A series of consultations will be held with women in the community including older women and CALD women. These discussions seek to gauge two things: how confident women are accessing online health information as well as perceived challenges whilst also understanding attitudes around online sexual health information.

Results/Discussions:

Although there is limited sex disaggregated data corresponding to older populations and CALD populations, available studies place both groups of women in lower digital literacy levels relative to the Australian population.
While this is true for older women, studies also indicate an improvement over the last 10 years showing an increase in digital literacy for older people as a whole.
What is evident in both groups is the similarity of challenges particularly in regards to navigating through online sources, keeping up to speed with new technology and low confidence accessing health resources.
For CALD women issues of simple language and cultural sensitivity are elements that affect frequent use of online health information and often dictate confidence of access.

Conclusions/implications:

Low digital literacy levels and limited knowledge of accessing online health information can have negative impacts on individual health. The sexual health APP seeks to alleviate barriers of access for vulnerable women encouraging more informed health decisions.