35% of Latino families rely on their mobile devices as the primary method of connecting to the internet (Gonzalez et al., 2020). This limitation further necessitates the need for strong health and digital literacy skills.

Grand Valley State University

Coined by Gonzalez et al. (2020), health information brokering and searching is the process of bilingual family members (usually children) finding, comprehending, and translating information from online sources to help English Language Learning (ELL) relatives reach health care services, learn about health behaviors, and navigate online health content, also known as eHealth sources. 
Searching for this information requires a degree of English proficiency and education, so children use this inter-generational communication process to bridge gaps in understanding for family members.

Information Brokering and Searching

Not all populations have equal access to health resources. Topics in access to health information include:

•Smartphone dependency and mobile-only households

•Language Barriers

•Health Misinformation

•Information Communication Technologies (ICT)

•Online Searching and Brokering Health Information

•Transportation and Geographic Limitations

Accessibility of Health Resources

Gonzalez, C., Bollinger, B., Yip, J., Pina, L., Roldan, W., & Nieto Ruiz, C. (2020). Intergenerational Online Health Information Searching and Brokering: Framing Health Literacy as a Family Asset. Health Communication, 37(4), 438–449. https://doi.org/10.1080/10410236.2020.1847445

Intergenerational Online Health Information Searching and Brokering: Framing Health Literacy as a Family Asset

Online learning refers to any kind of education or learning effort that takes place over the internet.

Online Learning 

Smartphone Dependency

As the term indicates, health misinformation is misinformation related to health. Themes might be viruses, food safety, nutrition and vaccinations (Bode & Vraga, 2018; Chen et al., 2018; Lazer et al., 2018; Lewandowsky et al., 2012; Oh & Lee, 2019). These  misinformation can negatively affect people’s health behaviors (Chou et al., 2018; Oh & Lee, 2019). 

Health misinformation

Inter-generational co-searching, discussion, and group decision making about health behaviors and information may strengthen family bonds, encourage co-learning between parents and children, improve problem solving skills, and increase academic attainment. 

By working together to translate important health information, the entire family is empowered to participate regardless of varying language and technical skills. Emphasizing familial involvement is especially culturally significant to Latino populations.

Pros to Framing Health Information as a Family Asset

Involving developing children in the discussion of sensitive health information, the stress of translating between languages in medical settings, understanding and explaining advanced medical jargon, and crossing child-parent boundaries into co-dependency and over-reliance can put strain on family relationships. There is potential for co-searching and inter-generational decision-making strategies to inadvertently undermine parental self-efficacy and elicit mutual frustration.


Learn Before

Related