Objective  To explore the correlation of e-health literacy with life satisfaction and quality of life among the elderly in Tai′an city, Shandong province, and to provide references for improving the quality of life of the elderly.

  Methods  Using multistage random cluster sampling, we conducted a face-to-face questionnaire survey among 3 870 urban and rural residents aged ≥ 60 years in 6 prefectures/counties/districts of Tai′an municipality during August 2020. A self-designed general questionnaire, the E-Health Literacy Scale (e-HEALS) – Chinese Version, the Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS), the European Quality of Life-5 Dimensions (EQ-5D), and the European Quality of Visual Analogue Scale (EQ-VAS) were adopted in the study. A structural equation model (SEM) was constructed based on the data collected to analyze relationships between e-health literature and life satisfaction and quality of life among the elderly.

  Results  For all the elderly, the overall score of e-HEALS was 10.20 ± 8.53 and the dimension scores were 6.27 ± 4.16, 2.62 ± 1.76, and 1.31 ± 0.89 for e-health literacy-related application, judgment, and decision-making ability; the overall score of SWLS was 27.84 ± 5.32; the utility score of EQ-5D was 0.93 ± 0.12; and the score of EQ-VAS was 78.41 ± 15.68, respectively. The results of correlation analysis showed that the overall score of e-HEALS was positively correlated significantly with the overall score of SWLS (r = 0.079) and the EQ-VAS score (r = 0.088) (both P < 0.001); the overall score of SWLS was positively correlated with the EQ-VAS score significantly (r = 0.269, P < 0.001). A well-fitted SEM was constructed, with the parameters of root mean square error of approximation of 0.067, comparative fit index of 0.976, normed fit index of 0.975, and goodness of fit index of 0.955. Resulted from the SEM analysis, the direct effect of e-health literacy on life satisfaction was 0.086; the direct and indirect effect of e-health literacy on quality of life were and 0.060 and 0.020; and the direct effect of life satisfaction on quality of life was 0.232.

  Conclusion  E-health literacy can affect the quality of life directly and indirectly via influencing life satisfaction among community elderly residents in Tai′an city.