Skills of U.S. Older Adults: Program for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (Piaac)

Abstract

Providing young adults opportunities to teach older adults mobile technology may have positive impact on their attitudes towards aging and health awareness. In this presentation, the experience of 140 IMTOP college student in Taiwan who served as IMTOP volunteers for 8 weeks was analyzed qualitatively using thematic coding by 2 researchers. The volunteers received preparatory training to learn about the concepts of aging and motivational interviewing. They then provided 16-hour services to teach older adults mobile technology skills related to learning about the CDSMP and the IMTOP app. From their self-reflections, young volunteers reported that the most important things they learned from this experiences were effective communication skills with older adults and health knowledge. The intergenerational interaction broke down their stereotypes about older adults and developed their empathy and patience with better understanding of difficulties and challenges older adults encounter when using technology products. Their health awareness was also enhanced. In addition to assessing key information-processing skills --literacy, numeracy, and digital problem solving, participants also responded to an extensive background questionnaire on their educational attainment, employment, skill use at work and at home, as well as demographic questions, and questions related to health status and preventive health. SESSION 3020 (SYMPOSIUM)WHATThe PIAAC results indicate a strong relationship between age and performance in all three cognitive domains. In both literacy and numeracy domains, a smaller percentage of adults ages 45-74 performed at top proficiency levels than adults ages 25-34 and 35-44, and a larger percentage of adults ages 45-74 performed at the lowest proficiency levels compared to younger adults.The first presentation will give an overview of PIAAC and key results for older adults. The second will use PIAAC data to examine relationships between skills and variables such as participation in formal and non-formal education and training programs and employment, as well as labor force participation and income, for adults aged 45 to 65. The third presentation will examine associations between labor force participation, health status, and cognitive skills among adults aged 66 to 74. SKILLS OF U.S. OLDER ADULTS: PROGRAM FOR THE INTERNATIONAL ASSESSMENT OF ADULT COMPETENCIES (PIAAC) J. Soroui, American Institutes for Research, Washington, District of ColumbiaThis presentation is based on the results of the Program for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC) conducted in 2012 and 2014 in the U.S. and 33 countries. In the U.S. the study administered in 2012 and 2014 to a nationally representative sample of 8,670 adults ages 16-74. As a large-scale study, PIAAC is focused on measuring adults' key cognitive skills, including literacy, numeracy and digital problem solving, and the relationships between these skills and individuals' background and demographic characteristics. This session provides an overview of...