Relationships among technology use, social engagement, resilience, and access to healthcare

Résumé

The COVID-19 pandemic prompted measures to protect the most vulnerable populations that induced inequities by diminishing accessibility of healthcare services for older adults. It has been argued that assistive technologies can reduce health inequities by promoting access to healthcare through resilience and social engagement. We did a small exploratory study to investigate how technologies designed to support social engagement and resilience are related to healthcare-seeking behaviors and healthcare access with a sample of 8 community-dwelling older adults aged 65+. We hypothesized relationships among the following variables: technology use, social engagement, resilience, psychological impact of assistive devices, care-seeking behaviors, and access to healthcare. Variables were assessed using questionnaires administered in an interview format. The results give partial support to our hypotheses. For example, increased frequency and longer duration of technology use were correlated with improved social engagement. Increased social engagement and a positive psychosocial impact of assistive devices were associated with increased resilience. The findings demonstrate that technology can mitigating healthcare barriers by promoting social engagement, resilience, and care-seeking behaviors. Recommendations for future studies include using large sample sizes and a broader range of measures for the key constructs to produce generalizable findings consistent with our preliminary results.