Who are the Older Adults’ Users or Non-Users of the Internet before the Pandemic? Analysis of the Epifloripaageing Cohort Study (2009-2019)

Abstract

Background: This ageing demographic transformation has been happening simultaneously with technological immersion, especially internet use in communication and health monitoring applications. Objective: This study’s primary aim was to characterize the Internet’s socioeconomic and demographic factors of internet users and non-users. The second aim was to analyze which factor, modifiable or not, influenced the incidence of older adults’ Internet use over time. Methods: This study was done with 722 EpiFloripa Ageing Cohort Study follow-up of older adults. The outcome is internet use according to waves 1 to 3, and the exposures are sociodemographic. It described the characteristics of internet users and non-users, and it used a longitudinal analysis model (Generalized Estimating Equations) to estimate Incidence Rate Ratios (IRR) with 95% confidence intervals. Results: Internet users were younger, with higher education and higher income than non-users over time. Most non-users of the Internet were women (54%) and white (93%), with an average of 66.4 years old and 14 years of study. Conclusion: The incidence of internet use was 11, 4% in Wave 2 and 23.0% in Wave 3 and was 80% lower in older adults 80 years and over compared to other age groups. Regarding schooling and family income, the internet use incidence was higher according to the increase in education levels and income range, except for older adults with more than 10 Brazilian minimum wages. Public policies are needed to reduce inequalities in access to the Internet and promote the digital inclusion of older adults.