Older adults' perceptions of contexts surrounding their social participation in a digitalized society-an exploration in rural communities in Northern Sweden.

Caroline Fischl, Nina Lindelöf, Helena Lindgren, Ingeborg Nilsson
Author Information
  1. Caroline Fischl: Department of Community Medicine and Rehabilitation, Occupational Therapy, Umeå University, 901 87 Umeå, Sweden. ORCID
  2. Nina Lindelöf: Department of Community Medicine and Rehabilitation, Physiotherapy, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden. ORCID
  3. Helena Lindgren: Department of Computing Science, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden. ORCID
  4. Ingeborg Nilsson: Department of Community Medicine and Rehabilitation, Occupational Therapy, Umeå University, 901 87 Umeå, Sweden. ORCID

Abstract

Social participation and digital engagement can contribute to health and well-being among older adults. Because of older adults' decline in abilities, coupled with complex technology and its perceived insufficient relevance to daily life, there is a need to create and tailor social opportunities and services that are supported by digital technologies for older adults to continue participating in society. Thus, it becomes relevant to explore older adults' perceptions about contexts surrounding their social participation in a digital society. This exploration used a qualitative research design with focus group interviews and qualitative content analysis. Eighteen older adults, aged 66-81 years, from rural communities in Northern Sweden, participated in this study. The analysis resulted in three categories: and These categories were encapsulated in the theme- The findings suggested that co-creating usable digitalized services and facilitating satisfactory use of digital technologies could support older adults' social participation through activities that they find relevant in their lives, and subsequently, might enable them to live longer at home.

Keywords

References

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Word Cloud

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