A Multilevel Model of Older Adults' Appropriation of ICT and Acquisition of Digital Literacy.

Digital literacy refers to a set of competencies related to the skilled use of computers and information technology. Low digital skills can be a barrier for older adults' full participation in a digital society, and COVID-19 has increased this risk of social exclusion. Older adults' digital inclusion is a complex process that consists of the interplay of structural and individual factors. The ACCESS project unwrapped the complexity of the process and developed an innovative, multilevel model that illustrates how societal, institutional, material and pedagogical aspects shape adults' appropriation of digital literacy. A holistic model describes factors contributing to older adults' digital literacy, acknowledging sociocultural contexts, environments, learning settings and instruction practices for learning digital literacy. Instead of seeing older adults' reasons for learning digital skills purely as individual choice, this model recognizes the interpersonal, institutional and societal aspects that implicitly or explicitly influence older adults' acquisition of digital literacy. The results offer a tool for stakeholders, the research community, companies, designers and other relevant stakeholders to consider digital skills and the given support. It demands diverse communication between different stakeholders about the things that should be discussed when organizing digital support in digitalized societies.

Socially assistive robots on the market : Experiences from inpatient care and potentials for care at home.

BACKGROUND: The article addresses commercial socially assistive robots (SAR). There is evidence of the impact of SAR on older persons in institutional settings. Family care at home has not yet been the subject of systematic research; however, especially at home SAR could help to prevent loneliness, provide emotional support, and foster communication. OBJECTIVE: Inspired by evidence on the potential impact of SAR, the article analyzes their potential for supporting family care at home. A participatory research and development (R&D) project stands as an example of how SAR can improve communication and relations at home. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Apart from the results of selected randomized controlled trials (RCT) in institutional settings, the article provides results from tests that were run in the R&D project. RESULTS: SAR can increase the quality of life of users at home. They are capable of improving relations within family care. They inspire communication, change routines, and provide relief to family caregivers; however, it takes trained human companions to support the use of SAR at home and address ethical aspects. CONCLUSION: If SAR are supposed to deliver their potential for care at home, older persons and their caregivers must be actively involved in research and development. These processes must be systematically evaluated.

[Health companion : Findings from the testing of a new volunteering profile]. / Gesundheitsbegleitung : Erkenntnisse aus der Erprobung eines neuen Engagementprofils.

BACKGROUND: For many (older) people, especially those with chronic diseases, it is a challenge to maintain or develop a health-promoting lifestyle. Knowledge and possibilities of organizing one's own everyday life accordingly are distributed in a socially unequal way; loss of mobility and lack of support and a diluted supply structure in rural areas are further obstacles. As part of the development of a model health center in a rural neighborhood, an approach to health support based on voluntary work was developed and tested, in which volunteers (n = 10) were appointed as peers. OBJECTIVE: This article describes the theoretical embedding, the conceptual framework of the training (participative learning) and the volunteering profile (outreach support) as well as the effects achieved. On the basis of project experiences and selected evaluation results both beneficial factors as well as challenges were identified. These have to be considered in the further development of the volunteering profile and its implementation in the practice. MATERIAL AND METHODS: For the evaluation a mixed methods design was applied at two measurement points. In the surveys 14 accompanied persons were included. The qualitative data were analyzed by qualitative content analysis according to Mayring and the quantitative data by descriptive statistics. RESULTS: The results show that chronically ill (older) people are reached by the voluntary health companion (eGb). The outreach support has positive effects on the receivers and leads to concrete changes in behavior. CONCLUSION: For the further development, dissemination and consolidation of the eGb, various challenges need to be addressed and adjustments are necessary.