Abstract: Objective To understand the current situation of demand of health science popularization by interviewing residents ≥55 years old in the community,listen to relevant suggestions,so as to provide empirical basis for improving the work of science popularization for the elderly. Methods From February to July 2023,a convenient sampling method was used to conduct personal in-depth interviews with 232 residents ≥55 years old in the three regions of southern,northern and eastern Xinjiang. The content induction method and thematic framework analysis were used to analyze the results. Results At present,the way of knowledge acquisition for residents ≥55 years old was mainly mass or interpersonal communication. The content of science popularization took disease prevention and control（34.05%）,traditional Chinese medicine health care（27.08%） as the primary demand. The communication channels of science popularization took radio/TV programs（26.93%）,community/medical institutions（23.70%）,network/mobile media（20.47%） as the primary source. The column of science popularization took online network media（56.44%） as the primary demand. The most acceptable forms of science popularization were pictures（26.58%）,sounds（26.37%） and interpersonal interaction（25.74%）. And 23.71% of the respondents said they did not understand science popularization. Conclusion The residents ≥55 years old are willing to accept the popularization of health knowledge,and it is particularly important to broaden the content of science popularization,innovate communication channels,integrate multiple forms,and strengthen the organizational communication to provide scientific,easy-to-understand,practical,and interesting popular science knowledge.

Key words: Elderly residents, Science popularization, Cognition, Demand