Dataset Information

Older adults' perceptions of contexts surrounding their social participation in a digitalized society-an exploration in rural communities in Northern Sweden.

ABSTRACT: Social participation and digital engagement can contribute to health and well-being among older adults. Because of older adults' decline in abilities, coupled with complex technology and its perceived insufficient relevance to daily life, there is a need to create and tailor social opportunities and services that are supported by digital technologies for older adults to continue participating in society. Thus, it becomes relevant to explore older adults' perceptions about contexts surrounding their social participation in a digital society. This exploration used a qualitative research design with focus group interviews and qualitative content analysis. Eighteen older adults, aged 66-81 years, from rural communities in Northern Sweden, participated in this study. The analysis resulted in three categories: experiencing conditions for social participation in a state of flux, perceiving drawbacks of urbanization on social participation, and welcoming digital technology that facilitates daily and community living. These categories were encapsulated in the theme-the juxtaposition of narrowing offline social networks and expanding digital opportunities for social participation. The findings suggested that co-creating usable digitalized services and facilitating satisfactory use of digital technologies could support older adults' social participation through activities that they find relevant in their lives, and subsequently, might enable them to live longer at home.

SUBMITTER: Fischl C

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7458988 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Publications

Older adults' perceptions of contexts surrounding their social participation in a digitalized society-an exploration in rural communities in Northern Sweden.

Fischl Caroline C Lindelöf Nina N Lindgren Helena H Nilsson Ingeborg I

European journal of ageing 20200211 3

Social participation and digital engagement can contribute to health and well-being among older adults. Because of older adults' decline in abilities, coupled with complex technology and its perceived insufficient relevance to daily life, there is a need to create and tailor social opportunities and services that are supported by digital technologies for older adults to continue participating in society. Thus, it becomes relevant to explore older adults' perceptions about contexts surrounding th ...[more]

PMID: 32904866

Similar Datasets

Project description:Active school transport (AST) refers to using active means of transport such as walking, cycling, or riding a non-motorised scooter to school. It can help improve adolescents' physical activity levels and create a more sustainable environment. The study involved 70 adolescents (45 boys and 25 girls) aged 13 to 14 from one school in Skellefteå, in Northern Sweden. In an online questionnaire, they were asked about their perceptions of cycling, walking, and riding a non-motorised scooter to school. This study used descriptive statistics, multiple regression analysis, and hypothesis testing with ANOVA to analyse the collected data and compare the perceptions of different types of transport on safety, environmental, and personal factors among adolescents in Northern Sweden. According to the results, more adolescents walked to school than cycled, and significantly few rode a non-motorised scooter to school. Most adolescents believe walking or cycling to school is a great way to exercise. Furthermore, the study also revealed that many adolescents avoid using AST due to the time it takes. Although the study showed that adolescents felt sufficient support for using AST from schools and parents, the number of adolescents using motorised transport is higher during winter than in summer. Additionally, most of them were more confident about cycling and walking to school than riding a non-motorised scooter and thought using AST was nice. Finally, most adolescents perceived having complete control over their transport options when going to school. The research indicates that it is crucial to implement interventions that inspire children to be interested and excited about using AST. These strategies should include fostering an AST culture that is fun and positive, as well as creating environments that are safe and supportive. The research results will guide the creation of a persuasive game that can motivate adolescents to use AST and measure its effectiveness.

Project description:BackgroundDelivering emergency care in rural areas can be challenging, but video consultation (VC) offers opportunities to make healthcare more accessible. The communication and relationship between professionals and patients have a significant impact on the patient's experience of safety and inclusion. Understanding the patient perspective is crucial to developing good quality healthcare, but little is known about patient experiences of emergency care via VC in a rural context. The aim of this study was to explore patient experiences of emergency care via VC in northern rural Sweden.MethodsUsing a qualitative approach, semi- structured interviews (n = 12) were conducted with individuals aged 18-89 who had received emergency care with a registered nurse (RN) on site and VC with a general practitioner (GP). The interviews were conducted between October 2021 and March 2023 at community hospitals (n = 7) in Västerbotten County, Sweden. Interviews were analysed with content analysis.ResultsThe analysis resulted in main categories (n = 2), categories (n = 5) and subcategories (n = 20). In the main category, "We were a team of three", patients described a sense of inclusion and ability to contribute. The patients perceived the interaction between the GP and RN to function well despite being geographically dispersed. Patients highly valued the opportunity to speak directly to the GP. In the main category, "VC was a two-sided coin", some experienced the emergency care through VC to be effective and smooth, while some felt that they received a lower quality of care and preferred face-to-face consultation with the GP. The quality of the VC was highly dependent on the RN's ability to function as the hub in the emergency room.ConclusionPatients in rural areas perceived being included in 'the team' during VC, however they experienced disadvantages with the system on individual basis. The nursing profession plays an important role, and a proper educational background is crucial to support RNs in their role as the hub of the visit. The GP's presence via VC was seen as important, but to fully enable them to fulfil their commitments as medical professionals, VC needs to be further improved with education and support from technical devices.

Project description:ObjectiveAdherence to hypertension treatment is a major public health challenge for low and middle-income countries particularly in sub-Saharan Africa. One potential reason could be the discordance between lay and medical explanatory models of hypertension and its treatment. Understanding community perceptions and practices may contribute to improving hypertension control as they present insights into psychosocial and cultural factors that shape individual behaviour. We explore community perceptions regarding hypertension and its treatment in rural northern Ghana and how they differ from medical understanding.DesignThis was a qualitative study using semi-structured interviews and focus group discussions to collect data, which were analysed using a thematic approach.SettingA multisite study conducted in four rural communities in two regions of northern Ghana.ParticipantsWe conducted 16 semi-structured interviews and eight focus group discussions with community leaders and members, respectively.ResultsThree major themes were identified: community perceptions, treatment options and community support for people with hypertension. Community perceptions about hypertension include hypertension perceived as excess blood in the body and associated with spiritual or witchcraft attacks. Traditional medicine is perceived to cure hypertension completely with concurrent use of biomedical and traditional medicines encouraged in rural communities. Community members did not consider themselves at risk of developing hypertension and reported having inadequate information on how to provide social support for hypertensive community members, which they attributed to low literacy and poverty.ConclusionThere is a substantial mismatch between communities' perceptions and medical understanding of hypertension and its treatment. These perceptions partly result from structural factors and social norms shaped by collective processes and traditions that shape lay beliefs and influence individual health behaviour. Socioeconomic factors also thwart access to information and contribute to inadequate social support for persons with hypertension. These findings highlight the need for a public health approach to hypertension control targeting families and communities.

Project description:BackgroundParticipation is key to the successful implementation of nutrition-related interventions, but it has been relatively overlooked.ObjectiveWe sought to describe participation intensity among smallholder farmers in a randomized nutrition-sensitive agroecology study in rural Tanzania. We explored the association between baseline characteristics and overall participation intensity (quantitatively at the individual level and qualitatively at the group level), the association of participation intensity with 2 process indicators, and the association between participation intensity and key study outcomes.MethodsData came from 7 rounds of surveys with 295 women and 267 men across 29 months and 2 rounds of semi-structured interviews with the 20 "mentor farmers" who delivered the intervention. Participation intensity was based on the number of months of attendance at village-level project meetings or household visits (range: 0-29). Multivariable models of participation were built.ResultsWomen and men participated for 17.5 ± 7.2 and 13.6 ± 8.3 months, respectively. Participation intensity followed 1 latent trajectory: initially low, with a sharp increase after month 7, and plateaued after the first year. At baseline, higher participation intensity was associated with older age, higher education, level of women's empowerment, being in the middle quintile of wealth, and qualitatively, village residence. Higher participation intensity was associated with 2 process indicators - better recall of topics discussed during meetings and greater knowledge about key agroecological methods. High participation intensity was positively associated with increased use of sustainable agricultural practices among all participants, and among women, with husband's involvement in household tasks and child's dietary diversity score.ConclusionsParticipation intensity covaried with key study outcomes, suggesting the value of increased attention to implementation in nutrition-related programs for providing insights into drivers of impact. We hope that investigations of participation, including participation intensity, will become more widespread so that intervention impacts, or lack thereof, can be better understood.

Project description:BackgroundCervical cancer is the most common cancer affecting women in Uganda; yet community understanding of the disease is limited. We explored community perceptions, beliefs and knowledge about the local names, causes, symptoms, course, treatment, and prognosis of cervical cancer in order to inform targeted interventions to promote early help-seeking.MethodsTwenty four focus group discussions (FGD) with men and women aged 18 - 59 years and ten key informant interviews with persons aged ≥ 60 years were conducted at two sites in Gulu district between May and June 2012. A semi-structured interview guide informed by Kleinman's illness explanatory model and literature on community awareness of cervical cancer was used to collect data. Data analysis was supported with use of ATLAS.ti 6.1 in coding, organizing and tracking data segments. We used content analysis technique in data analysis and organised data into a structured format under distinct themes and categories.ResultsCervical cancer was known by the local name "two remo", meaning "an illness that manifests with bleeding." Respondents believed that early onset of sexual activity, multiple male sexual partners and multi-parity cause cervical cancer. Respondents in half of FGDs also reported that use of condoms and family planning pills and injections cause cervical cancer. Symptoms of cervical cancer reported included vaginal bleeding, watery vaginal discharge and lower abdominal and waist pain. Respondents in most of the FGDs and key informants perceived cervical cancer as a chronic illness and that it can be treated with both modern and traditional medicines. The majority thought that cervical cancer treatment was supportive; the illness is not curable.ConclusionsWhile some lay beliefs about the causes of cervical cancer suggest some understanding of aetiology of the disease, other perceived causes particularly those related to use of family planning and condoms are potentially hurtful to public health. Awareness campaigns to promote early help-seeking for cervical cancer symptoms need to be culturally-sensitive and context-specific; and include messages on symptoms, risk factors, course, treatment and prognoses.

Dataset Information

Older adults' perceptions of contexts surrounding their social participation in a digitalized society-an exploration in rural communities in Northern Sweden.

Publications

Older adults' perceptions of contexts surrounding their social participation in a digitalized society-an exploration in rural communities in Northern Sweden.

Similar Datasets

OmicsDI is part of the ELIXIR infrastructure

Tweets