Summary of Project
Information and communications technology (ICT) forms the backbone of our everyday communication. The pandemic has generated a ‘New Normal’ in which a significant portion of our physical encounters has been replaced by online alternatives. Large-scale digital interventions to contain the pandemic, such as track-and-trace apps and digital vaccine passports, may have expanded the use of ICT in some populations, but rendered low access, literacy and usage particularly disadvantageous for others. Pre-pandemic research has shown that older adults often fall behind their younger counterparts with respect to the use of ICT. However, recent reports in e-commerce (e.g., online shopping, e-banking) underscore a burgeoning silver hair e-market, possibly propelled by the pandemic. Hence, how much the diverse population of local older adults can catch up with the rapid digital transformation, and who are likely to need what kind of support remain pressing but unanswered questions. Under the backdrop of the efforts from the Hong Kong government and NGO to promote gerontechnologies, it is pivotal to first map out how local older adults use ICT in their everyday lives with robust, valid indicators.
This study attempts to fill three knowledge gaps which will be essential for developing a responsive, age-enabling ICT environment: (1) While traditional indicators of digital divide, such as smartphone and internet usage, have capped among middle-aged adults, and younger adults have taken work- or school-from-home as a normative practice, it is essential to review what constitutes informative ‘common denominators’ to map the differences in ICT access, literacy and usage between younger and older populations that may disadvantage the latter, especially after the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic. These new indicators will involve more advanced and complex access, literacy and usage (e.g., online grocery shopping, generating content on social media, etc) than just smartphone ownership and internet use. (2) The heterogeneity in the demographics, health, ethical concerns and neighborhood characteristics of older adults may result in significant interpersonal differences in their ICT access, literacy and usage. A socio-culturally valid user typology for older ICT users will be needed for segmenting and diversifying support for digital inclusion. (3) Multi-level policies and services will be needed to support diverse older ICT users and nurture an age-friendly ICT environment. Guided by a person-in-environment perspective, this project will involve six studies with three phases. Phase 1 will be an instrument development phase. Study 1 will be a focus group study with 144 adults aged 55 or above to examine the socio-culturally meaningful indicators of digital divide, dimensions for typologizing older ICT users as well as their ethical concerns over ICT. The results will inform Study 2, a pilot telephone survey with a representative sample of 900 younger and older adults, to develop quantitative instruments for measuring the digital divide, user typology and ethical concerns. Professionals will be consulted in Study 3 for refining the new instruments via a focus group study. Phase 2, a formal evaluation phase, will involve Study 4. With the help of spatial modelling, a large-scale, face-to-face survey with 1620 middle-aged and older adults will be conducted to examine the associations between ICT access, literacy and usage with biopsychosocial outcomes and the socio-spatial characteristics of the participants’ neighborhoods. Study 5 will be a comparative study for evaluating state and community-level policies and interventions for fostering ICT usage in older adults in technologically-developed societies. The findings of Studies 1 to 5 will feed into a series of workshops and a Delphi study in Study 6 (Phase 3: solution generation phase) for generating service and policy directions and suggestions.
This project will refresh the society’s understanding of diversity in older adults’ ICT usage and provide a robust empirical basis for the development of responsive, empowering and age-inclusive ICT policies and support. It will also serve as an excellent example for international scholars, policy-makers and care professionals to periodically review their understanding of ICT usage in the growing population of older adults.
計劃簡介
資訊科技在我們的日常溝通中有著不可或缺的角色。新冠疫情造就了一種「新常態」，網上模式替代了很多人與人之間的實體溝通。不同政府亦以大規模數碼政策，如追蹤程式、電子疫苗護照等，去控制新冠疫情，這些政策促使一些群體使用更多資訊科技，但亦可能令其他群體在資訊科技的接觸、知識及使用上更見落後於大眾。疫情前研究顯示，在資訊科技使用上，長者通常落後於年青人。可是，近年有關電子商貿 (如網上購物、網上銀行服務) 的研究中可見銀髮市場變得愈來愈蓬勃，而疫情亦可能進一步促進這市場的發展。香港長者是一個很多元化的群體，他們有多能夠趕上疫情而來的急速數碼化，有哪個群體需要什麼類型的支援等問題都尚待回答。近年香港政府及非牟利團體致力發展樂齡科技，以合適且有效的方法去了解香港長者使用資訊科技的情況變得至關重要。
本研究旨在填充三個影響年齡友善資訊科技環境的知識空隙：(1) 當量度數碼鴻溝的傳統指標，包括智能電話及互聯網的使用，都已於中年人士間完全普及，而遙距上課或工作已成為年青人的常態，我們需要思考什麼指標才能突顯長者與青年間的數碼鴻溝，且顯示出長者未能享受資訊科技為生活帶來的裨益，而此問題對於後疫情的社會更為重要。這些新指標可能包括比使用智能電話及互聯網更為高階、更為複雜的接觸、知識及使用層面 (如網上購買日用品、上載內容到社交媒體等)。(2) 長者之間不同的人口特徵、健康狀況、倫理考量，以至居住環境會構成他們使用資訊科技上的差異。故此，一個切合本地社會文化背景的長者資訊科技使用者分類法有助發展多元化且具針對性的支援方案。(3) 要創造一個年齡友善的資訊科技環境需要多元化、多層次的政策及服務，以支援不同年長資訊科技使用者。 參考「人在環境中」的理論框架，本研究包含六個項目及三個階段。第一階段是量表建構。項目一會邀請144位年齡達55歲的人士參與焦點小組，以探討什麼才是切合本地社會文化背景的數碼鴻溝指標，分類年長資訊科技使用者的條件，以及使用資訊科技時的倫理考量。這些結果會用於設計項目二的問卷，問卷會以電話訪問900名成人，以量度數碼鴻溝、建立資訊科技使用者分類，及評估有關的倫理考量。項目三會邀請業界代表以焦點小組討論並微調上述的工具。第二階段是正式評估。項目四會邀請1620名中老年人士進行面對面問卷調查，配以空間模型，探討資訊科技接觸、知識及使用與身心健康及居住環境特徵的關係。項目五會以比較研究評估科技領先的社會裡國家及社區層面上促進長者使用資訊科技的政策及介入。項目一至五的研究結果會用於項目六 (第三階段：制定解決方案)，透過一系列工作坊及德爾菲 (Delphi) 研究去制定服務及政策方向及建議。 本研究希望讓社會明白長者於資訊科技使用上的多元性，並為制定有效且以賦權為基礎的年齡友善資訊科技政策及支援提供嚴謹的實證。此外，本研究亦希望提示國際間對長者資訊科技使用有興趣的學者、政策制定者及護理專業人員數碼鴻溝是個隨時間演進的現象。