Bergh Sverre, Benth Jūratė Šaltytė, Høgset Lisbeth Dyrendal, Rydjord Britt, Kayser Lars
Research Centre for Age-related Functional Decline and Disease, Innlandet Hospital Trust, Ottestad, Norway.
Norwegian National Centre for Aging and Health, Vestfold Hospital Trust, Tønsberg, Norway.
JMIR Aging. 2025 Feb 7;8:e62936. doi: 10.2196/62936.
With the increasing number of older adults globally, there is a constant search for new ways to organize health care services. Digital health services are promising and may reduce workload and at the same time improve patient well-being. A certain level of eHealth literacy is needed to be able to use digital health services. However, knowledge of technology readiness in this target group of older adults is unclear.
The aim of this study was to understand the technology readiness level of a group of older adults who were provided home care services in order to address the present and future needs of this group in relation to the implementation of digital health care services.
This quantitative cross-sectional study included 149 older adults from Norway receiving home care services. The participants completed the Readiness and Enablement Index for Health Technology (READHY) instrument, assessments of well-being (World Health Organization-Five Well-Being Index [WHO-5]), and assessments of demographic and clinical variables (sex, age, education, living situation, comorbidity, use of digital devices, and use of IT). Cluster analyses were used to group the users according to their technology readiness.
The mean participant age was 78.6 (SD 8.0) years, and 55.7% (83/149) were women. There was good consistency within the assumed READHY scales (Cronbach α=.61-.91). The participants were grouped into 4 clusters, which differed in terms of READHY scores, demographic variables, and the use of IT in daily life. Participants in cluster 1 (n=40) had the highest scores on the READHY scales, were younger, had a larger proportion of men, had higher education, and had better access to digital devices and IT. Participants in cluster 4 (n=16) scored the lowest on eHealth literacy knowledge. Participants in cluster 1 had relatively high levels of eHealth literacy knowledge and were expected to benefit from digital health services, while participants in cluster 4 had the lowest level of eHealth literacy and would not easily be able to start using digital health services.
The technology readiness level varied in our cohort of Norwegian participants receiving home care. Not all elderly people have the eHealth literacy to fully benefit from digital health services. Participants in cluster 4 (n=16) had the lowest scores in the eHealth Literacy Questionnaire scales in the READHY instrument and should be offered nondigital services or would need extensive management support. The demographic differences between the 4 clusters may inform stakeholders about which older people need the most training and support to take advantage of digital health care services.
随着全球老年人口数量的不断增加，人们一直在寻找新的方式来组织医疗保健服务。数字健康服务前景广阔，可能会减轻工作量，同时改善患者的健康状况。要使用数字健康服务，需要一定水平的电子健康素养。然而，对于这一老年目标群体的技术准备情况尚不清楚。
本研究旨在了解一组接受家庭护理服务的老年人的技术准备水平，以满足该群体在数字医疗服务实施方面的当前和未来需求。
这项定量横断面研究纳入了149名来自挪威接受家庭护理服务的老年人。参与者完成了健康技术准备与赋能指数（READHY）工具、幸福感评估（世界卫生组织-五福指数[WHO-5]）以及人口统计学和临床变量评估（性别、年龄、教育程度、生活状况、合并症、数字设备使用情况和信息技术使用情况）。采用聚类分析根据技术准备情况对用户进行分组。
参与者的平均年龄为78.6（标准差8.0）岁，55.7%（83/149）为女性。在假定的READHY量表内具有良好的一致性（克朗巴哈α系数=0.61-0.91）。参与者被分为4组，在READHY得分、人口统计学变量以及日常生活中的信息技术使用方面存在差异。第1组（n=40）的参与者在READHY量表上得分最高，年龄较小，男性比例较高，受教育程度较高，并且更容易获得数字设备和信息技术。第4组（n=16）的参与者在电子健康素养知识方面得分最低。第1组的参与者具有相对较高水平的电子健康素养知识，预计将从数字健康服务中受益，而第4组的参与者电子健康素养水平最低，不容易开始使用数字健康服务。
在我们这组接受家庭护理的挪威参与者中，技术准备水平各不相同。并非所有老年人都具备充分受益于数字健康服务的电子健康素养。第4组（n=16）的参与者在READHY工具中的电子健康素养问卷量表得分最低，应为其提供非数字服务，或者需要广泛的管理支持。这4组之间的人口统计学差异可以让利益相关者了解哪些老年人在利用数字医疗服务方面最需要培训和支持。
