Correction to: Non-use of Digital Services Among Older Adults During the Second Wave of COVID-19 Pandemic in Finland: Population-Based Survey Study (Human Aspects of IT for the Aged Population. Design, Interaction and Technology Acceptance, LNCS 13330, 10.1007/978-3-031-05581-2_41)

In an older version of this paper, the category names (user and non-user) in Table 1, “Characteristics of the respondents according to non-use of digital services” on page 602, were incorrect. This has been corrected. © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2022.

Non-use of Digital Services Among Older Adults During the SecondWave of COVID-19 Pandemic in Finland: Population-Based Survey Study

This study aimed to examine the associations of sociodemographic factors and factors related to physical, mental, cognitive, and social functioning with the non-use of digital services among older adults during the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. Nationally representative data from Finland were collected between October 2020 and January 2021. The present study included 1524 respondents (response rate 68.2%, 56.6% female) aged between 70 and 100. The analyses were conducted with multivariable logistic regression. Almost half of the respondents did not use digital services independently. Those who needed assistance due to functional limitations, had insufficient energy in everyday life, perceived that their memory or ability to learn was impaired, had three or more members in the household, and lived in rural region had greater odds of being non-users of digital services than their counterparts. Thus, challenges to cope independently in everyday life, cognitive impairment, and rural living seemed to expose older adults to risk for exclusion from digital services. Factors may be interconnected, further weakening the inclusion of older people in society. It seems that adapting to rapid digital development and face-to-face service delivery constraints during the pandemic may have been particularly challenging for these vulnerable individuals. To ensure wider use of digital services, the natural decline in functioning with age should be noted, and older adults should be included in the development of digital services. Accessible support and traditional face-to-face services must be secured.

Factors associated with the perception that eHealth facilitates access to healthcare : Emma Kainiemi

Background The provision of eHealth has increased in the COVID-19 era with the aim of improving access to care without the risk of infection. Perceiving eHealth beneficial may affect the use. This study examined which patient-related factors are associated with the perception that eHealth facilitates access to care. Methods A nationwide survey was sent to 61,600 Finnish residents during the COVID-19 pandemic (September 2020-February 2021). Binary logistic regression analysis was used to examine whether the service needs (self-rated health, met service needs, challenges accessing traditional care) and eHealth experience (e-visits, need for guidance, data security concerns) were associated with perceiving that eHealth facilitates access to care. The model was adjusted for age, gender and education. Results The study included 21,409 respondents who had used healthcare services in the past 12 months (55.0% female, mean age 52.88, SE .18). The majority (63.8%) agreed with the benefit that eHealth facilitates access to care. Patients in good health (OR 1.24, 95% CI 1.13-1.37), whose service needs were met (OR 1.34, 95% CI 1.19-1.52) and who had no challenges in accessing traditional care (OR 1.18, 95% CI 1.02-1.36) had greater odds of perceiving the benefit compared to their counterparts. Patients with experience of e-visits (OR 2.60, 95% CI 2.28-2.96) and without need for guidance (OR 1.71, 95% CI 1.52-1.91) had greater odds of perceiving the benefit compared to their counterparts. Conclusions Patients in good health, with met service needs and with easy access to traditional care appear to perceive eHealth more beneficial than their counterparts, which might exacerbate the already existing inequalities in healthcare access and health outcomes. Promotion of eHealth skills might increase equitable opportunities to benefit from eHealth for those patients whose service needs could be met without traditional face-to-face encounter. Key messages • Patients in good health, with met service needs and without difficulties accessing traditional healthcare appear to find eHealth more beneficial than their underprivileged counterparts. • Promotion of eHealth skills might increase equitable opportunities to benefit from eHealth for those patients whose service needs could be met without traditional face-to-face encounter.