Older adults’ perceptions of contexts surrounding their social participation in a digitalized society—an exploration in rural communities in Northern Sweden

Fischl, CarolineUmeå universitet,Jönköping University,HHJ, Avdelningen för rehabilitering,HHJ. ARN-J (Aging Research Network - Jönköping),Department of Community Medicine and Rehabilitation, Occupational Therapy, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden,Avdelningen för arbetsterapi,Department of Rehabilitation, School of Health and Welfare, Jönköping University, Jönköping, Sweden (author)

Social participation and digital engagement can contribute to health and well-being among older adults. Because of older adults’ decline in abilities, coupled with complex technology and its perceived insufficient relevance to daily life, there is a need to create and tailor social opportunities and services that are supported by digital technologies for older adults to continue participating in society. Thus, it becomes relevant to explore older adults’ perceptions about contexts surrounding their social participation in a digital society. This exploration used a qualitative research design with focus group interviews and qualitative content analysis. Eighteen older adults, aged 66–81 years, from rural communities in Northern Sweden, participated in this study. The analysis resulted in three categories: experiencing conditions for social participation in a state of flux, perceiving drawbacks of urbanization on social participation, and welcoming digital technology that facilitates daily and community living. These categories were encapsulated in the theme—the juxtaposition of narrowing offline social networks and expanding digital opportunities for social participation. The findings suggested that co-creating usable digitalized services and facilitating satisfactory use of digital technologies could support older adults’ social participation through activities that they find relevant in their lives, and subsequently, might enable them to live longer at home.

Lindelöf, NinaUmeå universitet,Avdelningen för fysioterapi,Arcum,Department of Community Medicine and Rehabilitation, Physiotherapy, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden(Swepub:umu)chalif78 (author)
Lindgren, HelenaUmeå universitet,Institutionen för datavetenskap,Arcum,Department of Computing Science, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden(Swepub:umu)healen96 (author)
Nilsson, IngeborgUmeå universitet,Avdelningen för arbetsterapi,Arcum,Department of Community Medicine and Rehabilitation, Occupational Therapy, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden(Swepub:umu)inni0004 (author)
Jönköping UniversityHHJ, Avdelningen för rehabilitering (creator_code:org_t)

By the author/editor: Fischl, Caroline; Lindelöf, Nina; Lindgren, Helena; Nilsson, Ingebor ...

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MEDICAL AND HEALTH SCIENCES: MEDICAL AND HEAL ...; and Health Sciences; and Occupational The ...

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