Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Helsinki, PO Box 54, 00014, Helsinki, Finland.
Centre for Public Health, Queen's University Belfast, Institute of Clinical Science, Block A, Royal Victoria Hospital, Belfast, BT12 6BA, UK.
BMC Public Health. 2022 Mar 23;22(1):574. doi: 10.1186/s12889-022-12874-x.
In older adults, including those with a migrant background, ill health is associated with less internet use. However, it is not known what are the specific self-perceived barriers to internet use among older migrants with different health conditions. The aim of this study was to investigate the associations between different health conditions and self-perceived barriers to internet use among older migrants.
We used the Care, Health and Ageing of Russian-speaking Minority in Finland (CHARM) study, which is a nationally representative survey of community-dwelling Russian-speaking adults aged ≥50 years living in Finland (N=1082, 57% men, mean age 63.2 years, standard deviation 8.4 years, response rate 36%). Postal survey data were collected in 2019. Health indicators were self-rated health (SRH), depressive symptoms, cognitive functioning, and doctor-diagnosed conditions. Linear regression analyses were used to investigate the associations between health indicators and a summary scale consisting of the following barriers of internet use: (1) internet use is too complicated and hard to learn; (2) having concerns about safety issues; (3) internet use is too expensive; (4) physical limitations hinder the internet use; (5) memory problems hinder the internet use. In addition, the two most commonly reported barriers (the first two) were examined separately using logistic regression analyses. The analyses were adjusted for age, sex, education, marital status, local language proficiency, and income support, and the health conditions, and were performed with weights accounting for the survey design and non-response.
After adjustments, spine/back problems (b=0.13; p=0.049), depressive symptoms (b=0.40; p=0.007), and problems in learning new things (b=0.60; p<0.0005) were associated with higher level of overall barriers to internet use. In addition, a number of health conditions were associated with individual barriers, albeit some health conditions appeared protective.
In general, older migrants with declining health experience more barriers to internet use than their counterparts with better health. To provide better access to healthcare for older adults, including older migrants, rapidly changing devices, software and apps need to be modified and adapted for those with specific health-related needs.
在老年人中，包括有移民背景的老年人，健康状况不佳与互联网使用较少有关。然而，目前尚不清楚在具有不同健康状况的老年移民中，他们使用互联网的具体自我感知障碍是什么。本研究的目的是调查不同健康状况与老年移民使用互联网的自我感知障碍之间的关联。
我们使用了俄罗斯族在芬兰的保健、健康和老龄化研究（CHARM），这是一项针对居住在芬兰的≥50 岁讲俄语的社区居民的全国代表性调查（N=1082，57%为男性，平均年龄 63.2 岁，标准差 8.4 岁，回复率 36%）。2019 年进行了邮寄问卷调查。健康指标包括自我评估健康状况（SRH）、抑郁症状、认知功能和医生诊断的疾病。线性回归分析用于调查健康指标与包括以下互联网使用障碍的综合量表之间的关联：（1）互联网使用过于复杂和难以学习；（2）对安全问题的担忧；（3）互联网使用费用过高；（4）身体限制阻碍了互联网的使用；（5）记忆问题阻碍了互联网的使用。此外，使用逻辑回归分析分别检查了两个最常报告的障碍（前两个）。分析调整了年龄、性别、教育程度、婚姻状况、当地语言熟练程度和收入支持，以及健康状况，并使用考虑到调查设计和无应答的权重进行了分析。
调整后，脊柱/背部问题（b=0.13；p=0.049）、抑郁症状（b=0.40；p=0.007）和学习新事物的困难（b=0.60；p<0.0005）与互联网使用的总体障碍程度较高有关。此外，一些健康状况与个别障碍有关，尽管有些健康状况似乎具有保护作用。
总体而言，健康状况下降的老年移民比健康状况较好的老年移民在使用互联网方面遇到更多障碍。为了为包括老年移民在内的老年人提供更好的医疗保健服务，需要对快速变化的设备、软件和应用程序进行修改和调整，以满足具有特定健康相关需求的人群的需求。
