JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

Digital technology is a social determinant of health that affects older peoples’ ability to engage in health maintenance and prevention activities, connect with family and friends, and, more generally, to age in place. Unfortunately, disparities in technology adoption and use exist among older adults relative to other age groups and are even greater among low-income older adults.

Objective:

The present study describes the development and implementation of a digital literacy training program designed with the dual goals of training low-income older adults in the community and teaching students about aging using a community-engaged learning (CEL) approach.

Methods:

The training program was embedded within a 10-week Community-Engaged Learning course that paired undergraduates (n=27) with low-income older adults (n=18) for 8 weeks of digital literacy training. Older adults and students met weekly at the local senior center for the training. Students also met in the classroom weekly to learn about aging and how to use design thinking to train their older-adult trainees. Both older adults and students completed pre- and post-training surveys.

Results:

Older adults demonstrated increased digital literacy skills and confidence in the use of digital technology. Loneliness did not change from pre- to post-assessment; however, older adults showed improvements in their attitudes toward their own aging and expressed enthusiasm for the training program. Although students’ fear of older adults did not change, their comfort with working with older adults increased. Importantly, older adults and students expressed positive feelings about the trainee-trainer relationship they formed during the training program.

Conclusions:

A CEL approach that brings together students and low-income older adults in the community has strong potential to reduce the digital divide experienced by underserved older adults. Additional work is needed to explore the efficacy and scalability of this approach in terms of older adults’ digital literacy as well as other potential benefits to both older and younger adults.