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Internet and Health Information Technology Use and Psychological Distress Among Older Adults With Self-Reported Vision Impairment: Case-Control Study
BACKGROUND: The number of older adults with vision impairment (VI) is growing. As health care services increasingly call for patients to use technology, it is important to examine internet/health information technology (HIT) use among older adults with VI. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to examine (1)...
Autores principales: | , , , |
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Formato: | Online Artículo Texto |
Lenguaje: | English |
Publicado: |
JMIR Publications
2020
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Materias: | |
Acceso en línea: | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7301257/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/32490851 http://dx.doi.org/10.2196/17294 |
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author | Choi, Namkee G DiNitto, Diana M Lee, Othelia EunKyoung Choi, Bryan Y |
author_facet | Choi, Namkee G DiNitto, Diana M Lee, Othelia EunKyoung Choi, Bryan Y |
author_sort | Choi, Namkee G |
collection | PubMed |
description | BACKGROUND: The number of older adults with vision impairment (VI) is growing. As health care services increasingly call for patients to use technology, it is important to examine internet/health information technology (HIT) use among older adults with VI. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to examine (1) the rates of internet/HIT use among older adults with VI compared with a matched sample of their peers without VI, (2) associations of VI with internet/HIT use, and (3) association of HIT use with psychological distress, assessed with the Kessler-6 screen. METHODS: Data were obtained from the 2013 to 2018 US National Health Interview Survey. Older adults (aged ≥65 years) with self-reported VI were matched with older adults without VI, in a 1:1 ratio, based on age, sex, number of chronic medical conditions, and functional limitations (N=2866). Descriptive statistics and multivariable logistic regression models, with sociodemographic factors, health conditions, health insurance type, and health care service use as covariates, were used to examine the research questions. RESULTS: In total, 3.28% of older adults (compared with 0.84% of those aged 18-64 years) reported VI, and 25.7% of them were aged ≥85 years. Those with VI were significantly more socioeconomically disadvantaged than those without VI and less likely to use the internet (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 0.64, 95% CI0.49-0.83) and HIT (aOR 0.74, 95% CI 0.56-0.97). However, among internet users, VI was not associated with HIT use. HIT use was associated with lower odds of mild/moderate or serious psychological distress (aOR 0.62, 95% CI 0.43-0.90), whereas VI was associated with greater odds of mild/moderate or serious distress (aOR 1.84, 95% CI 1.36-2.49). Health care provider contacts were also associated with higher odds of internet or HIT use. CONCLUSIONS: Compared with their matched age peers without VI, older adults with VI are less likely to use HIT because they are less likely to use the internet. Socioeconomically disadvantaged older adults experiencing a digital divide need help to access information and communication technologies through a fee waiver or subsidy to cover internet equipment and subscription and ensure continuous connectivity. Older adults with VI who do not know how to use the internet/HIT but want to learn should be provided instruction, with special attention to accessibility features and adaptive devices. Older adults with a low income also need better access to preventive eye care and treatment of VI as well as other health care services. |
format | Online Article Text |
id | pubmed-7301257 |
institution | National Center for Biotechnology Information |
language | English |
publishDate | 2020 |
publisher | JMIR Publications |
record_format | MEDLINE/PubMed |
spelling | pubmed-73012572020-08-12 Internet and Health Information Technology Use and Psychological Distress Among Older Adults With Self-Reported Vision Impairment: Case-Control Study Choi, Namkee G DiNitto, Diana M Lee, Othelia EunKyoung Choi, Bryan Y J Med Internet Res Original Paper BACKGROUND: The number of older adults with vision impairment (VI) is growing. As health care services increasingly call for patients to use technology, it is important to examine internet/health information technology (HIT) use among older adults with VI. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to examine (1) the rates of internet/HIT use among older adults with VI compared with a matched sample of their peers without VI, (2) associations of VI with internet/HIT use, and (3) association of HIT use with psychological distress, assessed with the Kessler-6 screen. METHODS: Data were obtained from the 2013 to 2018 US National Health Interview Survey. Older adults (aged ≥65 years) with self-reported VI were matched with older adults without VI, in a 1:1 ratio, based on age, sex, number of chronic medical conditions, and functional limitations (N=2866). Descriptive statistics and multivariable logistic regression models, with sociodemographic factors, health conditions, health insurance type, and health care service use as covariates, were used to examine the research questions. RESULTS: In total, 3.28% of older adults (compared with 0.84% of those aged 18-64 years) reported VI, and 25.7% of them were aged ≥85 years. Those with VI were significantly more socioeconomically disadvantaged than those without VI and less likely to use the internet (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 0.64, 95% CI0.49-0.83) and HIT (aOR 0.74, 95% CI 0.56-0.97). However, among internet users, VI was not associated with HIT use. HIT use was associated with lower odds of mild/moderate or serious psychological distress (aOR 0.62, 95% CI 0.43-0.90), whereas VI was associated with greater odds of mild/moderate or serious distress (aOR 1.84, 95% CI 1.36-2.49). Health care provider contacts were also associated with higher odds of internet or HIT use. CONCLUSIONS: Compared with their matched age peers without VI, older adults with VI are less likely to use HIT because they are less likely to use the internet. Socioeconomically disadvantaged older adults experiencing a digital divide need help to access information and communication technologies through a fee waiver or subsidy to cover internet equipment and subscription and ensure continuous connectivity. Older adults with VI who do not know how to use the internet/HIT but want to learn should be provided instruction, with special attention to accessibility features and adaptive devices. Older adults with a low income also need better access to preventive eye care and treatment of VI as well as other health care services. JMIR Publications 2020-06-03 /pmc/articles/PMC7301257/ /pubmed/32490851 http://dx.doi.org/10.2196/17294 Text en ©Namkee G Choi, Diana M DiNitto, Othelia EunKyoung Lee, Bryan Y Choi. Originally published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research (http://www.jmir.org), 03.06.2020. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work, first published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research, is properly cited. The complete bibliographic information, a link to the original publication on http://www.jmir.org/, as well as this copyright and license information must be included. |
spellingShingle | Original Paper Choi, Namkee G DiNitto, Diana M Lee, Othelia EunKyoung Choi, Bryan Y Internet and Health Information Technology Use and Psychological Distress Among Older Adults With Self-Reported Vision Impairment: Case-Control Study |
title | Internet and Health Information Technology Use and Psychological Distress Among Older Adults With Self-Reported Vision Impairment: Case-Control Study |
title_full | Internet and Health Information Technology Use and Psychological Distress Among Older Adults With Self-Reported Vision Impairment: Case-Control Study |
title_fullStr | Internet and Health Information Technology Use and Psychological Distress Among Older Adults With Self-Reported Vision Impairment: Case-Control Study |
title_full_unstemmed | Internet and Health Information Technology Use and Psychological Distress Among Older Adults With Self-Reported Vision Impairment: Case-Control Study |
title_short | Internet and Health Information Technology Use and Psychological Distress Among Older Adults With Self-Reported Vision Impairment: Case-Control Study |
title_sort | internet and health information technology use and psychological distress among older adults with self-reported vision impairment: case-control study |
topic | Original Paper |
url | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7301257/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/32490851 http://dx.doi.org/10.2196/17294 |
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