Author ORCID Identifier

Anitha Saravanan: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4585-5577

Document Type

Article

Publication Title

Geriatric Nursing

Abstract

Background

Older adults are becoming more accepting and interested in using digital technologies, but difficulties and barriers remain for accessing reliable health-related information. The purpose of this focused pilot intervention study was to: (1) understand older adults’ firsthand experiences and challenges while using smart tablets post-COVID-19 pandemic, and (2) gather suggestions for age-appropriate training materials, preference of training materials, and resources to access reliable online health information.

Methods

A focused pilot intervention study that involved training older adults to use smart tablets followed by focus group of a convenience sample of 13 older adults (65–85 years old; 91.6% female) on their experiences of using smart tablets.

Results

Thematic analysis revealed three themes: tablets are convenient to access online information and older adults reported technical, security concerns, emotional and cognitive challenges regarding use of smart tablets. Older adults also requested one-on-one support, assistance, and topic specific learning for future training sessions.

Conclusions

Future studies should focus on providing detailed, clear instructions at an acceptable pace for older adults.

DOI

doi: 10.1016/j.gerinurse.2024.02.010

Publication Date

3-2024

Comments

© 2024. This manuscript version is made available under the CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 license https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/. This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Elsevier in Geriatric Nursing in Mar-Apr, 2024, available at: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gerinurse.2024.02.010.

Original Citation

Saravanan A, Shade M, Liu Y, Olayeni B, Sanders S, Johnson R, Booker S, Starkweather A. Training to use smart tablets to access reliable online health information in older adults' post-pandemic: A focused pilot intervention study. Geriatr Nurs. 2024 Mar-Apr;56:204-211. doi: 10.1016/j.gerinurse.2024.02.010.

Department

School of Nursing

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