The use of information and communication technologies to support working carers of older people - a qualitative secondary analysis

2015 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 32-43 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stefan Andersson ◽  
Lennart Magnusson ◽  
Elizabeth Hanson
Author(s):  
Alejandro Canedo-García ◽  
Jesús-Nicasio García-Sánchez ◽  
Deilis-Ivonne Pacheco-Sanz

The growing social gap between people of different generations has led to a greater interest in the study of intergenerational interactions. Digital technologies have become necessary for people of all ages to perform daily activities, increasingly including older people. The use of information and communication technologies (ICTs) and virtual tools can provide older people with excellent opportunities to connect with other generations, improving their quality of life and well-being. The aim of this study was to examine the benefits, satisfaction, and limitations of intergenerational interactions generated by the use of virtual tools. The participants are subjects of any age and different social groups residing in Spain and have completed an online survey. The analysis of sociodemographic data of the respondents showed that there is a significant correlation between the use of social networks and all the variables analyzed, except for their level of autonomy. Most participants who participated in intergenerational virtual activities reported the benefits of their social participation, relationships, mood, mental health, and academic education. Moreover, most participants were quite or very satisfied with the person with whom they used the virtual tools, especially if the person was a friend, their partner, sibling, another relative, or colleague. Except for grandparents, people who participated in intergenerational virtual activities and who had no limitations or disabilities were more frequently reported by the participants. In conclusion, intergenerational interactions through the use of virtual tools can contribute to improving the social inclusion and relationships of all people involved.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Georgia Casanova ◽  
Daniele Zaccaria ◽  
Elena Rolandi ◽  
Antonio Guaita

UNSTRUCTURED Background: In the last decades, the relationship between SNSs and older people’s loneliness is gaining specific relevance. Studies in this field are often based on qualitative methods because they allow studying in-depth self-perceived issues, including loneliness and well-being, or quantitative survey to report the links between ICTs and older people’s well-being or loneliness. The causal relationship does not in-depth analysed by these methods. Moreover, the research on older people’s SNSs use is still scant, especially regarding their impact on health and well-being. In recent years, the existing review studies have separately focused their attention on loneliness and social isolation of older people or on the elderly's use of ICTs and SNSs, without tackling the relationship between the former issue and the latter. This thorough qualitative review provides an analysis of research carried out using experimental and quasi-experimental design that investigates the causal effect of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) and social network sites (SNSs) use on older adults’ well-being related to loneliness. Objective: The aims of this review are to contrast and compare research designs (sampling and recruitment, evaluation tools, interventions) and findings of these studies and to highlight their limitations.Methods: Using an approach that integrates the methodological framework for scoping studies and the PRISMA guidelines for systematic reviews, we have identified only 11 articles that have met our inclusion criteria. A thematic and contents analysis based on the ex-post categorisation of data has been provided on the selected studies, and sequentially the data have been summarised tables. Results: The analysis of the selected articles has shown that i) ICTs use is positively, but weakly, related to the different measures of older people’s well-being and loneliness; ii) overall, the studies under review lack a sound experimental design; iii) the main limitations of these studies lie in the lack of rigor in sampling method and recruitment strategy. Conclusions: The analysis of the reviewed studies confirms the existence of a beneficial effect of ICTs use on the well-being of older people, in terms of reduced loneliness. however, the causal relationship is often declared as weakly. This review highlighting the need for studying these issues with adequate methodological rigour.


2021 ◽  
Vol 25 (6) ◽  
pp. 4-12
Author(s):  
E. V. Grokhotova ◽  
D. A. Barkhatova

The purpose of the study is to identify the needs, attitude and experience of third-age people in the field of using information and communication technologies in the modern stage of informatization. The modern system of additional education for older people in the field of computer literacy is now very outdated and in need of modernization. The transformation of the needs of this category of people for new knowledge and skills is caused by the rapid pace of development of digitalization, the growth of the range of electronic services and the expansion of opportunities associated with the use of information and communication technologies. The involvement of older people in these processes and the need to adapt to a new way of life actualizes the need to study what a modern digital literacy course should be from the point of view of people of the third age, namely, it is necessary to determine their needs for computer training, the experience and resources that they have.Materials and methods. The study was conducted from 2016 to 2019 on the basis of the Municipal government institution of the city of Novosibirsk “Coordination Center “Active City” among 214 people, studying under the program “Academy of Computer Literacy”, dedicated to the basics of working with computers and the Internet, organized with the support of the social programs’ development fund named after L.I. Sidorenko.The research carried out a theoretical analysis of psychological, pedagogical and scientific literature on the research topic, questioning and polling of respondents, analysis and generalization of the data obtained. The main objectives were: a) to reveal the information and communication technology resources available to respondents at home; b) to discover the motivating factors that determine the need for training in the field of computer literacy; c) to identify the requirement for the content of the computer literacy course in modern conditions in accordance with the requirements of the respondents; d) to analyze how these requirements are manifested in different age groups: 55-60 years old, 61-70 years old, 71-80 years old and over 80 years old.Results. The results of the study show the need to develop a course, not computer, but digital literacy of a new format, with the nature of flexibility, contributing to the satisfaction of any need to eliminate the problems of information activity at any level: low, intermediate or advanced. In addition, the rapidly changing information technology necessitates the provision of training that will enable the elderly person in the future to deal with any new and unknown technology. It is very important to adapt modern retirees to the new digital reality, teach them to interact with it and understand the principles of the device.Conclusion. These studies are the basis and prove the need to revise existing computer literacy courses and develop new content and teaching methods that take into account the modern needs of third age people.


2017 ◽  
Vol 42 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Flavie Plante

Understanding the relationship that older people develop with information and communication technologies is complex. Basing itself on the assumption that age, gender, and social class are not sufficient to understand this relationship, this article suggests combining the mechanisms of aging with those of media experience. This combination allows us to identify dynamics around recovery, deception and active and inactive attitudes around technologies. Applied to 35 retired individuals living in Réunion, these dynamics fuel the definition of the “second order digital divide,” the understanding of which depends on taking into account the stakes involved in the representation of old age.Comprendre la relation que les personnes âgées développent avec les technologies de l’information et de la communication est complexe. Partant du postulat que l’âge, le genre et la classe sociale ne sont pas suffisants pour saisir cette relation, cet article propose de combiner les mécanismes du vieillissement à ceux de l’expérience médiatique. Cette combinaison permet de dégager des dynamiques autour de la reprise, de la déprise et des attitudes actives et inactives autour des technologies. Appliquées à 35 individus à la retraite vivant à La Réunion, ces dynamiques alimentent la définition de la fracture numérique du second degré dont la compréhension dépend ici de la prise en compte des enjeux de la construction de la vieillesse.


2019 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
pp. 1-20
Author(s):  
Verina Waights ◽  
Caroline Holland ◽  
Estelle Huchet ◽  
Malcolm Fisk

As the European population ages, there is an escalating need for age-friendly standards to support development of effective products and services involving information and communication technologies (ICT), thereby improving usability for all consumers, including older people. Co-production with users through inclusive and participatory processes provides several benefits to standardization, including enhanced understanding of market needs, clearer identification and mitigation of risks, and increased legitimacy of the standards developed. Ideally, co-production includes users from a range of backgrounds. However, older people, especially those aged over 80 years, are often the least likely in the population to be involved. This paper reports on barriers and challenges to inclusive co-production from the perspectives of a range of stakeholders participating in the European Commission-funded project PROGRESSIVE: Progressive Standards around ICT for Active and Healthy Ageing. It identifies potential ways to improve the participation of older people in the co-production of standards.


Author(s):  
Leela Damodaran ◽  
Wendy Olphert ◽  
Jatinder Sandhu

Globally, older people have tended to be relatively slow adopters of ICTs. As services and facilities are increasingly delivered online, concerns about the implications for social inclusion and participation have spawned many initiatives aimed at encouraging older peoples' digital engagement. However little attention has been paid to whether and how their usage can be sustained over time. This chapter describes the research undertaken in the Sus-IT project, which sought to address this gap. The aims were to examine older people’s use of information and communication technologies (ICTs), to identify the factors which can prevent or promote sustained use, and to explore solutions to support sustained use. A participatory, mixed methods approach was adopted, and around 1000 older ICT users were involved in the research. The findings show that while many older people are enthusiastic, competent and confident users of ICTs, they also report a range of challenges in reaching and maintaining this position. These include technological complexity and change, age-related capability changes and a lack of appropriate learning and support mechanisms. Intrinsic motivation and social support are important in enabling older people to overcome these challenges. The important implications of the findings for policy and practice are discussed.


2017 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 139
Author(s):  
Joaquim Guerra

We live undoubtedly in a digital era in which younger people have more technological knowledge and use technology more than older people who mostly must adapt their lives and practices, learning how, why, and when to use digital tools. In schools, this gap is visible if we compare the curricula for teaching the Portuguese mother tongue and teachers’ practices. As we demonstrate, the references in syllabi are residual, and teachers use digital tools as they used other tools before. This paper aims to summarize and to intersect the results from previous studies on information and communication technologies (ICT), Portuguese mother tongue syllabi, and teachers’ practices with ICT. It also points out some causes of the lack of aims for the increase of digital literacy in mother tongue education.


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