Abstract
The study explores older people's perceptions and experiences with mobile technology adoption in hospitals. Twenty nine older people were interviewed at a tertiary hospital in Guangzhou from June to December 2020. All the interviews were analyzed using thematic analysis. Older people are a diversified group. Various factors impact their readiness for technology use, including their educational level, age, past experiences, living arrangements, etc. The older people in this study in general expressed a great concern about using the new health technology and many encountered barriers to its successful adoption. Yet, the barriers and difficulties that they encountered are embedded in a changed social context in China. The findings above provide insights into the adoption of health technology, and tailored measures to facilitate older people's technology adoption are suggested.
Highlights
China entered an aging society after 2000 [1]
The participants were asked about their recent hospital experiences and attitudes toward smart technology in the hospital: [1] how do they access hospital services now? Do they encounter any difficulties? How do they solve them? [2] What is their attitude toward new health technology? [3] What should be done to improve the situation? We interviewed to saturation, when we found that the viewpoints and themes that the older people were expressing were repeated and no new points were emerging
Older people are a diversified group, with varied ages, educational levels, working experiences, prior experiences with information technology, information technology skills, and family circumstances, all of which impact on their attitudes and adoption of health technology
Summary
In 2019, the number of the population over the age of 60 has already surpassed 254 million, reaching 18.1 percent of the whole population [2]. Since 2000, China has rapidly entered the internet age. The number of older internet users is rising, still it covers just over 10 percent of all users. This means that at least over 157 million older people use the Internet rarely or not at all. The wide spread of the Internet and Mobile Technology goes hand-in-hand with the aging of the population. What does it mean for older people in an Internet era? What does it mean for older people in an Internet era? Through the case of mobile technology adoption for hospital access, the study explores older people’s experience of living in an Internet era
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