Poor Health Linked to Disparities in Internet Use Among Older Adults

A survey by Duke-National University of Sinagpore's Center for Aging Research & Education (CARE) published in The Gerontologist determined that older adults encountered more difficulty using the Internet because of poor health, reports News-Medical . The researchers learned that users who were male, with lower levels of education, and those with limitations in instrumental activities of daily living like using the phone and doing housework, were more likely to face challenges in Internet use due to poor health. Persons of higher age, females, with less education, and based in low-income housing, were more likely to not use the Internet for non-health-related reasons. A particularly worrying finding is that health-related problems in Internet use created additional obstacles to online communication between older adults and their family and friends, and poor social connections and support — which reduced their quality of life on a cumulative level. "Our findings suggest that health-related difficulties are relevant in understanding the digital divide between the young and the old," said CARE Professor Rahul Malhotra. "Concurrent with optimizing the health of older persons, policymakers should consider supporting research and development into assistive technology and design aimed at helping older Internet users overcome health-related difficulty in Internet use."