Department of Sociology, Minzu University of China, Beijing, China.
Department of Global Health and Social Medicine Affiliate, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States.
Front Public Health. 2022 May 12;10:811959. doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2022.811959. eCollection 2022.
Digital inclusion can bridge the digital divide and reduce the social exclusion of older adults, yet it is understudied in China. This research examined factors influencing the digital inclusion of older adults in China and the relationship between digital inclusion and quality of life. Data collected from 312 older people ( = 69.6 years old) in Nanjing were included in a multinomial logit model to tackle these questions. Their attitudes toward technology were the most significant factor predicting their digital inclusion. Other factors included party affiliation, living situation, personal average monthly income, occupation, and capacity for instrumental activities of daily living (IADLs). This study shows digital inclusion has a direct impact on quality of life. It also serves as an intermediate variable that affects older people's attitudes toward technology and their IADL capacities. Most importantly, digital inclusion promotes social integration of older adults and improves the quality of their lives. Hence, it should not be ignored. Older people's attitudes toward technology are one of the keys to promoting their digital inclusion.
数字包容可以弥合数字鸿沟，减少老年人的社会排斥，但在中国这方面的研究还很缺乏。本研究考察了影响中国老年人数字包容的因素，以及数字包容与生活质量之间的关系。研究从南京的 312 位老年人（年龄 = 69.6 岁）那里收集数据，将这些数据纳入多项逻辑回归模型来解决这些问题。他们对技术的态度是预测其数字包容程度的最重要因素。其他因素包括党派关系、居住状况、个人平均月收入、职业和工具性日常生活活动能力（IADLs）。本研究表明，数字包容直接影响生活质量。它也是影响老年人对技术的态度和他们的 IADL 能力的中间变量。最重要的是，数字包容促进了老年人的社会融合，提高了他们的生活质量。因此，不能忽视这一点。老年人对技术的态度是促进他们数字包容的关键之一。
