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Older and Online: Making and
maintaining connections in
Australian rural places
Life Impact | The University of Adelaide
Helen Feist PhD | Deputy Director
Australian Population and Migration Research Centre,
University of Adelaide
Linking Rural Older People to
Community through Technology
For older adults in rural regions of Australia the issues of distance,
accessibility and social connectivity associated with rural living add another
dimension to the physical and social challenges associated with ageing
The Information Age
Four Stages of Data Collection:
• 2 Paper-based surveys, older community members (n= 859) and community aged care service providers (n=109)
• Face-to-face in depth interviews with a subset of community members (n=201)
• Pilot study with older people (n=48)
•Pilot study with 4 rural aged care service provider organisations
Project Overview
Pilot Study
• 48 Participants
• Laptop or iPad
• 12 months 3G Internet
• Regular meetings over 7 months
• Informal, self-directed learning
• Advice and support available 7 days a week over 12 months
Changes in Comfort Levels
0 20 40 60 80 100 120
Television
Microwave
Mobile Phone
ATM
EFTPOS
Personal Computer/iPad*
Internet
Telephone Banking
Online Banking
Percent
Pre-test
Post-test
% Respondents very/moderately comfortable using select new technologies
Changes in Attitude
0 20 40 60 80 100
New technologies are very useful to me
I use new technologies to make life easier
New technologies make it easy to stay in touch with family and friends
I would use new technologies more if I had opportunities for training
I would use new technologies more if I had more advice and support
I would use new technologies more if my family and friends used them
I would use new technologies if they were easier to use
New technologies are too complex for me to use
New technology is changing too fast for me to keep up
I am too old to learn about new technologies
New technologies are too expensive for me
I can see no use for new technologies in my life
Percent
Pre-test
Post-test
Changes in Attitude
0 20 40 60 80 100
New technologies are very useful to me
I use new technologies to make life easier
New technologies make it easy to stay in touch with family and friends
I would use new technologies more if I had opportunities for training
I would use new technologies more if I had more advice and support
I would use new technologies more if my family and friends used them
I would use new technologies if they were easier to use
New technologies are too complex for me to use
New technology is changing too fast for me to keep up
I am too old to learn about new technologies
New technologies are too expensive for me
I can see no use for new technologies in my life
Percent
Pre-test
Post-test
Changes in Attitude
0 20 40 60 80 100
New technologies are very useful to me
I use new technologies to make life easier
New technologies make it easy to stay in touch with family and friends
I would use new technologies more if I had opportunities for training
I would use new technologies more if I had more advice and support
I would use new technologies more if my family and friends used them
I would use new technologies if they were easier to use
New technologies are too complex for me to use
New technology is changing too fast for me to keep up
I am too old to learn about new technologies
New technologies are too expensive for me
I can see no use for new technologies in my life
Percent
Pre-test
Post-test
Changes in Attitude
0 20 40 60 80 100
New technologies are very useful to me
I use new technologies to make life easier
New technologies make it easy to stay in touch with family and friends
I would use new technologies more if I had opportunities for training
I would use new technologies more if I had more advice and support
I would use new technologies more if my family and friends used them
I would use new technologies if they were easier to use
New technologies are too complex for me to use
New technology is changing too fast for me to keep up
I am too old to learn about new technologies
New technologies are too expensive for me
I can see no use for new technologies in my life
Percent
Pre-test
Post-test
Self-Rated Health
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
50
Excellent/Very Good
Good Fair/Poor
Pe
rce
nt
Pre-pilot
Post-pilot
89% say their access to community information has improved
72% say their ability to stay in touch with family and friends has improved
Perceptions of Community
Connectedness
75 80 85 90 95 100
Pre-pilot
Post-pilot
Percent
% Respondents satisfied with their level of community involvement pre and post pilot
• The number if friend ties had increased in social networks by 83%
• The number of social network ties kept using the internet and email had increased from 51% to 83%
Pilot Participant Social Networks 9
months on....
Pilot Participants 9 months on...
Email Internet Games Documents Photos
Daily 55.3 21.3 51.1 8.5 2.1
2-3 times a week
19.1 31.9 14.9 4.3 4.3
Weekly 10.6 10.6 2.1 4.3 8.5
Fortnightly 2.1 4.3 2.1 2.1 6.4
As required 2.1 6.4 0.0 6.4 2.1
TOTAL 89.4 74.5 70.2 25.5 23.4
Support and Education
• Preference for small groups, ideally less than 10
• A mix of 1:1 in home training and group meetings
• Ongoing informal, ‘drop-in’ approach to support
• More formal course for specific programs and applications as proficiency improves
In Conclusion
For more information about this project:
Dr. Helen Feist,
Australian Population and Migration Research Centre
University of Adelaide
Life Impact | The University of Adelaide
THANKYOU