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BACKGROUND Older adults experiencing disabilities such as frailty and loss of autonomy face the decision of whether to stay at home or move to a healthcare facility such as a nursing home. Thus, they may need support for this difficult decision. OBJECTIVE Older adults experiencing disabilities such as frailty and loss of autonomy face the decision of whether to stay at home or move to a healthcare facility such as a nursing home. Thus, they may need support for this difficult decision. METHODS We conducted a cross-sectional study using an online survey targeting older adults across the 10 Canadian provinces and 3 territories. We included respondents from an online panel who were aged 65 years or older, understood English or French, had access to an electronic device with an internet connection and had made a housing decision over the past few months or were planning to make a decision in the coming year. We based the online survey on the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT). We adapted 17 UTAUT items to measure respondents’ intention to use the eDA for housing decisions, as well as items measuring 4 intention constructs (performance expectancy, effort expectancy, social influence and facilitating conditions). We also assessed e-Health literacy using subjective and objective scales. We used descriptive statistics and multivariate linear regression analyses to identify factors influencing the intention to use the eDA. RESULTS Of the 11,972 eligible panellists, 1,176 met the eligibility criteria and 1,000 (85%) respondents completed the survey. The mean age was 72.5 ± 5.59 years. Most respondents were male (54.8%), white (90.6%), English-speakers (62.9%) and living in Ontario or Quebec (62.8%) in urban areas (85%). Mean scores for subjective e-Health literacy were 27.8 ± 5.88 out of 40 and for objective e-Health literacy, 3.00 ± 0.97 out of 5. In our sample, the intention score was 4.74 ± 1.7 out of 7. Mean scores of intention constructs out of 7 were 5.63 ± 1.28 for facilitating conditions, 4.94 ± 1.48 for performance expectancy, 5.61 ± 1.35 for effort expectancy and 4.76 ± 1.59 for social influence. In the final model, factors associated with intention included mother tongue (β = .30; P <.001), objective e-Health literacy (β = -.06; P =.03), performance expectancy (β = .55; P <.001), social influence (β = .37; P <.001) and facilitating conditions (β = .15; P <.001). CONCLUSIONS Findings from this pan-Canadian online survey suggest that Canadian older adults’ intention to use an eDA to make housing decisions are similar to findings in other studies using UTAUT. Factors identified as influencing intention were mother tongue, objective e-Health literacy, performance expectancy, social influence and facilitating conditions. These will guide future strategies for implementing the eDA.

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By Virginie Blanchette PhD DPM, Maya Fakhfakh MD MSc, Janet L Kuhnke RN BA BScN MS NSWOC DrPsych and France Légaré MD MSc PhD CCFP FCFP

Background Older adults with disabilities such as loss of autonomy face the decision of whether to stay at home or move to a health care facility such as a nursing home. Therefore, they may need support for this difficult decision. Objective We assessed the intention of Canadian older adults to use an electronic decision aid (eDA) to make housing decisions and identified the factors that influenced their intention. Methods We conducted a cross-sectional study using a web-based survey targeting older adults across 10 Canadian provinces and 3 territories. We included respondents from a web-based panel who were aged ≥65 years, understood English or French, had access to an electronic device with an internet connection, and had made a housing decision over the past few months or were planning to make a decision in the coming year. We based the web-based survey on the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT). We adapted 17 UTAUT items to measure respondents’ intention to use the eDA for housing decisions, as well as items measuring 4 intention constructs (performance expectancy, effort expectancy, social influence, and facilitating conditions). We also assessed eHealth literacy using both subjective and objective scales. We used descriptive statistics and multivariable linear regression analyses to identify the factors influencing the intention to use the eDA. Results Of the 11,972 invited panelists, 1176 (9.82%) met the eligibility criteria, and 1000 (85.03%) respondents completed the survey. The mean age was 72.5 (SD 5.59) years. Most respondents were male (548/1000, 54.8%), White (906/1000, 90.6%), English speakers (629/1000, 62.9%), and lived in Ontario or Quebec (628/1000, 62.8%) and in urban areas (850/1000, 85%). The mean scores were 27.8 (SD 5.88) out of 40 for subjective eHealth literacy and 3.00 (SD 0.97) out of 5 for objective eHealth literacy. In our sample, the intention score was 4.74 (SD 1.7) out of 7. The mean scores of intention constructs out of 7 were 5.63 (SD 1.28) for facilitating conditions, 4.94 (SD 1.48) for performance expectancy, 5.61 (SD 1.35) for effort expectancy, and 4.76 (SD 1.59) for social influence. In the final model, the factors associated with intention included mother tongue (β=.30; P<.001), objective eHealth literacy (β=–.06; P=.03), performance expectancy (β=.55; P<.001), social influence (β=.37; P<.001), and facilitating conditions (β=.15; P<.001). Conclusions Findings from this pan-Canadian web-based survey on Canadian older adults suggest that their intention to use the eDA to make housing decisions is similar to the findings in other studies using UTAUT. The factors identified as influencing intention were mother tongue, objective eHealth literacy, performance expectancy, social influence, and facilitating conditions. These will guide future strategies for the implementation of the eDA.