Other Titles
PechaKucha Presentation
Abstract
Background: Healthy People 2030 prioritizes increasing older adults' access to health information technology, yet age-related digital divides persist. However, treating "digital health use" as monolithic may obscure contexts where older adults succeed, missing opportunities for targeted interventions.
Objective: To identify which digital health activities show smallest and largest age gaps, and whether healthcare engagement (cancer history) moderates older adults' digital health adoption.
Methods: We analyzed 6,648 U.S. adults (n=1,254 age 65+) from the Health Information National Trends Survey 7 (2022). Participants reported past 12-month use of six digital health activities: looking up health information, messaging providers, viewing test results, making appointments, using health apps, and receiving telehealth. Multilevel logistic regression examined how age gaps varied across activities and whether cancer history moderated these patterns.
Results: While older adults (65+) showed 40% lower odds of overall digital health use (OR=0.60, p<.001), age gaps varied dramatically by activity. Older adults demonstrated near-parity with younger adults for viewing test results online (82% vs. 89%, 7-point gap) and modest gaps for telehealth (16% vs. 24%, 8-point gap). In contrast, age gaps were substantial for health apps (31% vs. 58%, 27-point gap) and appointment scheduling (57% vs. 76%, 19-point gap). Among older adults, cancer survivors maintained particularly high use of test result viewing (88%), demonstrating that healthcare motivation can sustain digital engagement when tools align with needs.
Conclusions: The digital divide among older adults is not uniform,it is smallest when digital health tools offer clear health value with simple interfaces. Older adults' success with test result viewing (82% adoption) demonstrates substantial capability when tools are well-designed. Healthy People 2030's goal of health equity through technology can be advanced by focusing on activity-specific barriers rather than treating older adults as uniformly technology-averse.
Notes
This is a PechaKucha presentation, and the slide deck contains images instead of text. To compensate for this, the presenter notes are available in the attached slide deck. To see the notes in Adobe Acrobat, go to Tools > Comment or look at your Layers Panel. If the notes were saved as comments or layers, you can toggle them visible.
Sigma Membership
Psi at-Large
Type
Presentation
Format Type
Text-based Document
Study Design/Type
Other
Research Approach
Other
Keywords:
Public and Community Health, Primary Care, Instrument and Tool Development, Older People, Digital Health
Recommended Citation
Kwanin, Charles Boakye, "Beyond the Digital Divide: Identifying Opportunities for Older Adults' Digital Health Engagement" (2026). International Nursing Research Congress (INRC). 318.
https://www.sigmarepository.org/inrc/2026/presentations_2026/318
Conference Name
37th International Nursing Research Congress
Conference Host
Sigma Theta Tau International
Conference Location
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Conference Year
2026
Rights Holder
All rights reserved by the author(s) and/or publisher(s) listed in this item record unless relinquished in whole or part by a rights notation or a Creative Commons License present in this item record. All permission requests should be directed accordingly and not to the Sigma Repository. All submitting authors or publishers have affirmed that when using material in their work where they do not own copyright, they have obtained permission of the copyright holder prior to submission and the rights holder has been acknowledged as necessary.
Review Type
Abstract Review Only: Reviewed by Event Host
Acquisition
Proxy-submission
Date of Issue
2026-09-26
Beyond the Digital Divide: Identifying Opportunities for Older Adults' Digital Health Engagement
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Background: Healthy People 2030 prioritizes increasing older adults' access to health information technology, yet age-related digital divides persist. However, treating "digital health use" as monolithic may obscure contexts where older adults succeed, missing opportunities for targeted interventions.
Objective: To identify which digital health activities show smallest and largest age gaps, and whether healthcare engagement (cancer history) moderates older adults' digital health adoption.
Methods: We analyzed 6,648 U.S. adults (n=1,254 age 65+) from the Health Information National Trends Survey 7 (2022). Participants reported past 12-month use of six digital health activities: looking up health information, messaging providers, viewing test results, making appointments, using health apps, and receiving telehealth. Multilevel logistic regression examined how age gaps varied across activities and whether cancer history moderated these patterns.
Results: While older adults (65+) showed 40% lower odds of overall digital health use (OR=0.60, p<.001), age gaps varied dramatically by activity. Older adults demonstrated near-parity with younger adults for viewing test results online (82% vs. 89%, 7-point gap) and modest gaps for telehealth (16% vs. 24%, 8-point gap). In contrast, age gaps were substantial for health apps (31% vs. 58%, 27-point gap) and appointment scheduling (57% vs. 76%, 19-point gap). Among older adults, cancer survivors maintained particularly high use of test result viewing (88%), demonstrating that healthcare motivation can sustain digital engagement when tools align with needs.
Conclusions: The digital divide among older adults is not uniform,it is smallest when digital health tools offer clear health value with simple interfaces. Older adults' success with test result viewing (82% adoption) demonstrates substantial capability when tools are well-designed. Healthy People 2030's goal of health equity through technology can be advanced by focusing on activity-specific barriers rather than treating older adults as uniformly technology-averse.
Description
Age-friendly digital health strategies should prioritize replicating the usability features of successful tools (test results portals) in more complex tools (appointment systems, health apps) rather than assuming older adults need universal digital literacy training.