Mobile technology adoption across the lifespan: A mixed methods investigation to clarify adoption stages, and the influence of diffusion attributes.

We conducted a multi-study, mixed-methods, longitudinal investigation to examine how mobile technology diffuses across the lifespan, in real time, within a multi-generational population, while seeking local knowledge through community-based participatory research. Using qualitative methods (QUAL), we examined technology adoption within and across three iterations (16 weeks) of a nine-wave longitudinal community technology-training workshop, situated within a 15-wave study. In parallel, we interrogated existing conceptualization and operationalization of diffusion of technology variables, then deductively evaluated the dominant DOI-related variables re-conceptualized through the community study in a large cross-sectional quantitative (QUAN) investigation.

Toward a Theory of HealthIT Adoption Across the Lifespan: Findings from Five Years in the Community.

Mediated communication enabled by information technology has immense potential to positively affect personal health. Although existing theories of technology use and adoption have advanced our understanding of information technology, they do not fully address voluntary adoption in community settings, adoption across the lifespan, and privacy concerns. Drawing on evidence collected during more than five years of field research, we start to address those issues, especially as they pertain to HealthIT (e.

Online Health-Information Seeking Among Older Populations: Family Influences and the Role of the Medical Professional.

There are myriad technological devices, computer programs, and online information sources available for people to manage their health and the health of others. However, people must be technologically and health literate and capable of accessing, analyzing, and sharing the information they encounter. The authors interviewed middle-aged and older adults about their online health information seeking behavior and discovered that technology and health literacy are influenced by a collective ability to manage the health and technological needs of a family.