Division of Community Health Sciences, School of Public Health, University of Illinois at Chicago.
Behavioral Health and Nutrition Department, College of Health Sciences, University of Delaware, Newark.
Gerontologist. 2019 Jan 9;59(1):6-14. doi: 10.1093/geront/gny138.
Technology can enhance the health and quality of life of diverse populations and may play an important role in reducing health disparities. Although a "digital divide" between the young and the old has been noted, it is unclear whether the use of technology for managing health differs by race/ethnicity among older adults. This study uses nationally representative data from community-dwelling older Americans to characterize racial/ethnic differences in health-related technology use.
Data came from 1,336 white, black, and Hispanic adults aged 54 and older who completed the 2014 technology module of the Health and Retirement Study. Racial/ethnic differences in overall health-related technology use were assessed using Poisson regression. Then, F-tests were used to assess differences in the use of phone calls, text messages, E-mails, social media, health management sites, health-related mobile applications, web searches, and brain games for health purposes.
Compared to whites, older blacks and Hispanics were less likely to use technology for health-related purposes after accounting for demographic characteristics, education, and health conditions. They were also less likely to make or receive phone calls, use health management sites, search the web for health information, and use brain games for their health.
Older racial and ethnic minorities are less likely than whites to use certain technologies when managing their health. These findings highlight the importance of understanding the patterns of health-related technology use across racially and ethnically diverse populations to appropriately tailor interventions aimed at improving minority health and eliminating health disparities.
技术可以提高不同人群的健康水平和生活质量，在减少健康差距方面可能发挥重要作用。尽管已经注意到年轻人和老年人之间存在“数字鸿沟”，但尚不清楚老年人使用技术来管理健康的情况是否因种族/民族而异。本研究使用来自美国社区居住的老年人的全国代表性数据，描述了健康相关技术使用方面的种族/民族差异。
数据来自于参加 2014 年健康与退休研究技术模块的 1336 名年龄在 54 岁及以上的白种人、黑种人和西班牙裔成年人。使用泊松回归评估总体健康相关技术使用的种族/民族差异。然后，使用 F 检验评估电话、短信、电子邮件、社交媒体、健康管理网站、健康相关移动应用程序、网络搜索和健脑游戏等健康目的的使用差异。
在考虑人口特征、教育程度和健康状况后，与白人相比，年龄较大的黑人和西班牙裔人群不太可能出于健康相关目的使用技术。他们也不太可能打电话或接电话、使用健康管理网站、在网上搜索健康信息或使用健脑游戏来保持健康。
与白人相比，年龄较大的少数族裔人群在管理健康时不太可能使用某些技术。这些发现强调了了解不同种族和民族人群健康相关技术使用模式的重要性，以便针对改善少数民族健康和消除健康差距的干预措施进行适当调整。
