Faculty of Nursing and Health Sciences, Nord University, Bodø, Norway.
Faculty of Nursing and Health Sciences, Nord University, Levanger, Norway.
BMC Health Serv Res. 2021 Oct 26;21(1):1157. doi: 10.1186/s12913-021-07154-0.
Demographic changes are leading to an ageing population in Europe. People are becoming more dependent on digital technologies and health ministries invest increasingly in digitalisation. Societal digital demands impact older people and learning to use new telehealth systems and digital devices are seen as a means of securing their needs.
The present study undertakes a scoping review in order to map relevant evidence about telehealth and digital developments in society involving citizens aged 75 and over in European countries. It focuses on their experiences and the main barriers to, and facilitators of, societal digital demands. A framework proposed by Arksey and OMalley was used to guide the scoping review process. The studies included in the review covered telehealth, digital technology and digital devices, and the context covered participants own home or surroundings. A comprehensive search on PubMed/MEDLINE, CINAHL, Scopus, Embase and Open Grey was undertaken.
Out of 727 identified citations, 13 sources which met the inclusion criteria (9 original study articles, 2 theses, 1 letter about a product and 1 project report). Few of the studies identified have investigated European citizens 75 years and older separately. The studies included varied in their design, location and focus. Older people have experienced both telehealth and digital devices making life easier and the opposite. The outstanding facilitator found was that technology should be easy to use, and difficulty in remembering the instructions was seen as an important barrier. Interestingly, both social support and lack of social support were found as facilitators of using new devices.
Telehealth may give a sense of security but learning to use a new device often takes extra effort. Older people were more open to new devices if the possible advantages of the new technology outweighed the effort that would be involved in adopting a new strategy. As technology develops rapidly, and life expectancy in Europe is anticipated to rise continually, there is a need for new and additional research among older European citizens. Future research should cover the technical solutions most relevant to older people today, social support and participants` access to the devices.
人口结构变化导致欧洲人口老龄化。人们越来越依赖数字技术，各国卫生部也在加大数字化投入。社会数字化需求对老年人产生影响，学习使用新的远程医疗系统和数字设备被视为满足其需求的一种手段。
本研究进行了范围界定审查，以绘制有关欧洲国家 75 岁及以上公民参与的远程医疗和社会数字发展的相关证据。它侧重于他们的经验，以及社会数字需求的主要障碍和促进因素。使用 Arksey 和 O`Malley 提出的框架来指导范围界定审查过程。审查中包括的研究涵盖远程医疗、数字技术和数字设备，以及参与者自己的家庭或周围环境。在 PubMed/MEDLINE、CINAHL、Scopus、Embase 和 Open Grey 上进行了全面搜索。
在 727 条已确定的引文之外，有 13 条符合纳入标准（9 篇原始研究文章、2 篇论文、1 篇关于产品的信函和 1 篇项目报告）。很少有研究单独调查了 75 岁及以上的欧洲公民。所包括的研究在设计、地点和重点方面存在差异。老年人既体验过远程医疗，也体验过数字设备带来的便利和不便。发现的突出促进因素是技术应该易于使用，并且难以记住说明被视为一个重要的障碍。有趣的是，既发现了社会支持，也发现了缺乏社会支持是使用新设备的促进因素。
远程医疗可能会带来安全感，但学习使用新设备通常需要额外的努力。如果新技术的潜在优势超过采用新策略所涉及的努力，老年人对新设备更为开放。随着技术的快速发展，预计欧洲的预期寿命将持续上升，因此需要对欧洲老年公民进行新的和额外的研究。未来的研究应涵盖当今对老年人最相关的技术解决方案、社会支持以及参与者对设备的访问。
