Elderly Use of Risk-Free Media: Creating Health Communicators through Acquiring Media and Information Literacy, 2018
The 2018 research project “Elderly Use of Risk-Free Media: Creating Health Communicators through Acquiring Media and Information Literacy” is a form of participatory action research with a goal to improve the media and information literacy skills of elderly people using the media awareness slogan “Stop, Think, Ask, Act”. It also aims to empower the elderly to realize their value as health communicators (HCCs) who can create media that is appropriate for the context of the community and the situation of the society they live in, as well as contribute to change for the community or society. The research results help gain knowledge about the development of older people as health communicators in Thai society.
In this first year of research, there were groups of senior students from five Thai schools. A total of 268 people participated in the project from various places, namely, Churaban Wut Wittayalai School, Choeng Doi Subdistrict, Doi Saket District, Chiang Mai; Sakon Nakhon Municipal School for Seniors, Mueang District, Sakon Nakhon; Chalermprakiet Senior Citizen School, Plubpla Chai Subdistrict, U Thong District, Suphan Buri; Home for the elderly, Chamai Subdistrict Municipality, Thung Song District, Nakhon Si Thammarat; and the school for the elderly in Yannawa district, Bangkok.
After a year of working with the elderly, the research team discovered that the elderly had better media and information literacy skills. With the slogan “Stop, Think, Ask, Act”, they can understand the media and build up information literacy. Most of them can apply the media literacy slogan to themselves and pass it on to their grandchildren and friends because elderly participants are conscious of their value as communicators of appropriate media literacy knowledge.
Image collection of activities: Training for media literacy among the elderly
A Handbook of Wai Petch Health Communicators for Media Literacy
Video clip: Elderly Use of Risk