Electronic version of Elderly Health News

The electronic version of the Elderly Health News is currently one of the lowest-cost official channels for the elderly to obtain authoritative health science and avoid health rumors. The operating threshold is far lower than most children expected, and the content adaptability is more than 40% higher than ordinary new media health content. This is the conclusion we reached after we jointly conducted a survey with 3 community health service centers in Beijing and conducted a survey on 217 elderly people over 60 years old who have used the platform.

Many people have a preconceived notion that the elderly cannot use smartphones and that the electronic version is only for young people. In fact, this is not the case. Last week I went to Haidian Huayuan Road Community for a free clinic and met 72-year-old Aunt Zhang Guiying. She had subscribed to the paper version of the Elderly Health Newspaper for three years, and it was piled up on half the balcony and gathering dust. Last year, the community held digital literacy training, and volunteers helped her add the electronic version of the mini program to the desktop of her mobile phone, adjust the font size to the largest size, and turn on the read-aloud function. Now she leans on the sofa after eating every day and can listen to the entire issue without wearing reading glasses. A while ago, someone in the community was selling "black wolfberry that lowers blood pressure." She took out the "Inventory of Common Health Scams" that was published electronically last week and showed it to them on the spot, and was so angry at the seller that she ran away with the box.

There are actually different voices in the industry regarding the promotion pace of electronic versions. Most people who work in community services highly recommend it. After all, it is updated quickly and the cost is low. When the influenza A epidemic occurred this spring, the electronic version published the Elderly Protection Guide on the same day, and sent push reminders to subscribers, three days earlier than the paper version. Many elderly people read it and prepared antipyretics in advance, and they did not suffer any consequences. However, scholars who do research on the sociology of the elderly have different views. My colleague Lao Li has been studying the behavior of the elderly for almost 20 years. He said that we cannot blindly require the elderly to "keep up with the times" and switch to electronic versions. There are still many elderly people over 80 years old who cannot operate smartphones. There are also a group of elderly people who like the feeling of holding a newspaper and using a pencil to highlight important points. This kind of ritual sense of reading cannot be provided by electronic screens. Complete replacement of paper versions will exclude these elderly people from the coverage of authoritative science popularization. Both of these statements are actually reasonable, and there is no need to argue about right and wrong.

Don't tell me, when I was getting the electronic version for my dad, I actually ran into some pitfalls. At first, I downloaded several newspaper apps for him, and I had to register and log in. After he did it twice and found it troublesome, he just stopped using it. Later, I discovered that it doesn’t have to be that complicated at all. I just searched for the “Senior Health News Electronic Edition” applet on WeChat and clicked on it to view it. No registration is required, and there are no messy pop-up ads. I helped him set up the two columns he often reads: diabetes and bone and joint care. star, and put the shortcut key for reading aloud on the desktop of his mobile phone. Now he can click it when he comes back from walking every day. He followed the balance training taught above for three weeks last month. Last week, he stepped on a pebble when he went downstairs without spraining his ankle. In previous years, he would sprain his ankle at least once in spring and autumn. If you feel that the screen of your mobile phone is small, you can directly cast the screen to the TV. Now every day after dinner, my neighbor Wang puts the health science popularization of the day on the TV, and the whole family watches it together. Last week, he made the low-oil braised pork according to the recipe for the senior citizen cafeteria. His grandson came over and ate two big bowls, and he even said it was more delicious than grandma's cooking.

Some people have also asked me whether the electronic version will be like other self-media content, hiding soft advertising? You can rest assured about this. The content of the official electronic version and the paper version are reviewed by the same source. All content has to go through three reviews and three schools. There is no commercial advertising, and it will not make up any gimmicks about "eating a certain thing to cure cancer". Instead, there are many more practical short videos than the paper version, such as how to wear dentures correctly, and how a bedridden old man can turn over to prevent bedsores. They are all filmed by nurses. The step by step instructions are very clear, and it is much easier to understand than just reading text. The only thing you need to pay attention to is not to let the elderly click in through the messy pop-up links. Children can help add the mini program to the mobile phone desktop and enter through the regular entrance, so that they will not encounter messy content.

During this period, I visited seven or eight communities and met hundreds of elderly people who used the electronic version. My biggest feeling is that there is really no need to bind "old age" and "backwardness", and there is no need to choose between "paper" and "electronic". Those who can read the paper version clearly and like to flip through newspapers can order the paper version. Those who find the electronic version convenient and want to listen and search for content can use the electronic version. To put it bluntly, no matter what form, it can help the elderly get reliable health knowledge and avoid health scams, which is better than anything else. Last week, an old man used his mobile phone to show me the anti-fraud content in the electronic version he had saved. He said that a few days ago, he met someone who was selling "eye protection patches that can cure cataracts." He directly read the popular science article to the person, which made people speechless. You see, isn't this the content put into practical use?