Experienced barriers in the use of ICT for social interaction in older adults ageing in place: a qualitative systematic review protocol (SYSR-D-22–00848)

BACKGROUND: Several information and communication technologies (ICT) have been developed to enhance social connectedness of older adults aging in place, although they are not accessible for all. Barriers in using ICT might for example relate to health issues, sensory loss, lack of technical skills, or reluctance to use technologies. Though knowledge on these barriers is crucial for the development and implementation of ICT for older adults, no systematic review was found on this subject. The proposed qualitative systematic review aims to explore barriers experienced by older adults aging in place in using ICT for social interaction. METHODS: The review will be conducted in accordance with the JBI methodology. Databases for search will include MEDLINE (via PubMed), CINAHL (via EBSCO), and Web of Science (ISI), among others. Included studies focus on older adults ageing in place 60 years or older. Pairs of authors will independently, by following agreed guidelines, assess the eligibility of studies, and extract data. The testing of eligibility criteria and screening of titles, abstracts, and full texts will be performed. The findings will describe for example populations, context, culture, and the phenomena of interest. Qualitative research findings will, where possible, be pooled by using JBI SUMARI for the meta-aggregation approach. DISCUSSION: The mapping of published studies has the potential to identify research gaps in the existing literature, which again may inform developers and stakeholders in designing more user-friendly and adaptive ICT solutions for older people ageing in place. SYSTEMATIC REVIEW REGISTRATION: CRD42022370044. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s13643-023-02332-z.