Improving the Measurement of Older Adults’ Mobile Device Proficiency: Results and Implications from a Study of Older Adult Smartphone Users

Petrovčič, Andraž; Boot, Walter R.; Burnik, Tomaž; Dolničar, Vesna

doi:10.1109/access.2019.2947765

Cited by 22 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 33 publications

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“…Almost 90% of the participants used Android smartphones in the workshops. A study of digital inclusion for older adults showed that most participants were smartphone users, indicating that smartphones have gradually become a necessity [ 41 ], with the Android operating system considered the most prevalent among the target population of participants [ 53 ]. Most participants had healthy habits: 71.6% (58/81) practiced regular physical activity, 98.8% (78/79) were nonsmokers, and 94.9% (75/79) did not drink alcoholic beverages outside main meals.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Promoting Digital Proficiency and Health Literacy in Middle-aged and Older Adults Through Mobile Devices With the Workshops for Online Technological Inclusion (OITO) Project: Experimental Study

Quialheiro¹,

Miranda²,

García³

et al. 2023

JMIR Form Res

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Background Digital inclusion and literacy facilitate access to health information and can contribute to self-care behaviors and informed decision-making. However, digital literacy is not an innate skill, but rather requires knowledge acquisition. Objective The present study aimed to develop, conduct, and measure the impact, on digital and health literacy, of a digital inclusion program aimed at community dwellers. Methods The program targeted the recruitment of people aged 55 and older that owned mobile devices with an internet connection in 3 cities in northern Portugal (Paredes de Coura, Guimarães, and Barcelos). The program was titled the Workshops for Online Technological Inclusion (OITO) project and, in each city, was promoted by the coordinator of municipal projects and organized as an in-person 8-workshop program, using mobile devices, smartphones, or tablets. A quasi-experimental design was used with a nonrandomized allocation of participants in each set of 8 workshops. Sociodemographic, health status, and mobile use information were collected at baseline. Digital and health literacy were measured via the Mobile Device Proficiency Questionnaire and the Health Literacy Scale questionnaires, respectively, at baseline (T1), program completion (T2), and a 1-month follow-up (T3). A self-reported measure of autonomy was evaluated at T1 and T2 using a visual scale. Results Most participants were women with primary schooling (up to 4 years) aged between 65 and 74 years and retired. The intervention had an 81% (97/120) recruitment rate, 53% (43/81) adherence, and 94% (67/71) satisfaction rate, with 81 participants completing the entire 8-workshop program. Most participants had owned their mobile device for more than one year (64/81, 79%), were frequent daily users (70/81, 86%), and had received their mobile device from someone else (33/64, 52%). Over 80% (71/81) of the participants who completed the intervention used Android smartphones. At baseline, participants had low baseline scores in digital literacy, but medium-high baseline scores in health literacy. They showed significant improvement in digital literacy at T2 and T3 compared to T1, but without a significant difference between T2 and T3, regardless of sex, age, or schooling. A significant improvement in self-reported autonomy was observed at T3 compared with baseline. Regarding health literacy, no significant differences were found at T2 or T3 compared to the baseline. Conclusions The feasibility indicators showed that the OITO project methodology had a substantial rate of recruitment and satisfaction. Program participants had significant improvement in digital literacy after 8 workshops and maintained their score 1 month after completing the intervention. There was no significant change in health literacy during the project period.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Promoting Digital Proficiency and Health Literacy in Middle-aged and Older Adults Through Mobile Devices With the Workshops for Online Technological Inclusion (OITO) Project: Experimental Study

Quialheiro¹,

Miranda²,

García³

et al. 2023

JMIR Form Res

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“…Obsolete and unsupported operating systems may not be capable of incorporating these newly designed applications. Even if there are workarounds for older adults to use such applications on an obsolete device, their technological proficiency is typically lower than that of younger adults ( 34 – 37 ), and could limit their ability to find such solutions.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Technology obsolescence across the adult lifespan in a USA internet sample

Gray

Charness

2022

Front. Public Health

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We know that older adults are less likely to own certain technological devices, such as smartphones, a technology now integral to telehealth. However, for those older adults who do own devices, we know very little about how their devices may differ from those of younger adults. The age of a device can determine the types of programs it can run, as well as the level of protection it has against malicious code. The following study is an attempt to understand the ages of devices owned by different demographic groups. An electronic survey was sent to American adults from ages 19–97, querying the types of devices they own, how old those devices are, when they plan on replacing them, and demographic information. Regression models were employed to determine the factors that predict device ownership and the age of the devices owned. We replicate the finding that older adults are less likely to own certain devices, like smartphones and laptops. However, they may be more likely to own more dated devices, such as non-smart mobile phones. Models of device age showed that older adults are more likely to own older smartphones, as well as older desktop and laptop computers. Thus, older adults may be more susceptible to hacking, due to obsolete technology. In some cases, they also may not have devices modern enough for technology-based health interventions. Thus, obsolete devices may present an additional barrier for adoption of technology-based interventions by older adults.

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“…The abbreviated (16 item) version of the MDPQ was administered which asked participants to rate their proficiency using mobile devices, including smartphones and tablet computers (e.g., “Using a mobile device I can: Send emails”). This measure has demonstrated validity and reliability ( Roque and Boot, 2018 ; Moret-Tatay et al, 2019 ; Petrovcic et al, 2019 ). The measure consists of eight subscales (subscale scores range from 1 to 5 with lower numbers representing lower proficiency).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The MDPQ was administered to understand whether technology proficiency is associated with attitudes toward wearable and mobile technologies to promote physical and cognitive health. The abbreviated (16 item) version of the MDPQ was administered which asked participants to rate their proficiency using mobile devices, including smartphones and This measure has demonstrated validity and reliability (Roque and Boot, 2018;Moret-Tatay et al, 2019;Petrovcic et al, 2019). The measure consists of eight subscales (subscale scores range from 1 to 5 with lower numbers representing lower proficiency).…”

Section: Mobile Device Proficiency Questionnairementioning

confidence: 99%

Understanding older adults’ attitudes toward mobile and wearable technologies to support health and cognition

Fowe

Boot

2022

Front. Psychol.

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The use of technology to facilitate remote patient monitoring and virtual care is desirable due to the challenges of providing healthcare during the COVID-19 pandemic and the need for more efficient and effective methods to care for the expanding older adult population. Further, the collection and sharing of patient generated health data (PGHD) through these technologies holds promise with respect to improving outcomes and reducing the cost of care by facilitating the early detection and treatment of cognitive and health problems. Despite the potential benefits of these technologies, their promise might be hampered by low rates of acceptance and adoption among older adults. In an online survey, we assessed community-dwelling older adults’ (N = 92) attitudes towards the use of wearable and mobile technologies for (1) predicting cognitive decline, (2) assisting with adherence to healthy activities, and (3) collecting self-report data to understand current and predict future health states. Participants generally agreed hypothetical technology solutions would be useful (M = 4.20, SD = 0.70 on a 1–5 agreement scale; 5 = “strongly agree”), that they were interested in learning more about these technologies (M = 4.04, SD = 0.74), and that they would be willing to adopt these technologies (M = 3.83, SD = 0.93), though attitudes varied. Although participants were generally positive toward these technologies, they were relatively neutral in terms of their agreement that privacy of generated data was a concern (M = 2.92, SD = 1.02). Privacy concerns were associated with lower interest and willingness to adopt. More positive general technology attitudes and higher mobile device proficiency were associated with greater acceptance and willingness to adopt these technologies. Finally, poorer self-rated health was related to negative attitudes toward these technologies. These findings highlight barriers and potential targets for intervention to increase uptake of these and similar technologies among older adults who may be reluctant to adopt remote monitoring technologies.

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Improving the Measurement of Older Adults’ Mobile Device Proficiency: Results and Implications from a Study of Older Adult Smartphone Users

Cited by 22 publications

References 33 publications

Promoting Digital Proficiency and Health Literacy in Middle-aged and Older Adults Through Mobile Devices With the Workshops for Online Technological Inclusion (OITO) Project: Experimental Study

Promoting Digital Proficiency and Health Literacy in Middle-aged and Older Adults Through Mobile Devices With the Workshops for Online Technological Inclusion (OITO) Project: Experimental Study

Technology obsolescence across the adult lifespan in a USA internet sample

Understanding older adults’ attitudes toward mobile and wearable technologies to support health and cognition

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