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Open Access 01-12-2019 | Original Investigation

Attitudes of elderly Austrians towards new technologies: communication and entertainment versus health and support use

Authors: Nicole Halmdienst, Michael Radhuber, Rudolf Winter-Ebmer

Published in: European Journal of Ageing | Issue 4/2019

Abstract

We use data from SHARE (The Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe) in Austria to investigate attitudes towards new technologies in information and communication technology. The technologies can significantly facilitate the daily lives of an ageing population. In Austria, in wave 6 in 2015, an additional paper-and-pencil questionnaire was implemented which asked details about attitudes towards different technological innovations. From these questions, we develop a binary attitude score which indicates positive attitudes towards new technologies. In probit estimations, the attitude score is related to different demographic and health variables. Our main results indicate that strong gender differences in attitudes towards new technologies exist: men value communication and entertainment devices more, whereas women’s attitudes are more positive towards devices that include a specific health or support value. Furthermore, while older cohorts value entertainment devices less than younger ones, no such pattern exists for health and support systems.

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The paper questionnaire can be accessed here: www.share-project.org/fileadmin/pdf_questionnaire_wave_6/AT_EN_drop-off_w6.pdf.

An Emergency Tracking Systems is a wristband with an emergency button, that connects individuals directly to a 24-hour call centre.

The number of excluded cases ranges between 10 and 52 for each technological device with an average of 28. Auto Cooker Control exhibits the lowest number of invalid answers, and Tablets correspond to the maximum number of invalid answers. In the first column of Table 3, details on ‘do not know’ answers are included.

Pearsons chi-squared test statistics of gender differences: Communication and entertainment technologies (chi-squared = 16.51, design-based \(F = 11.69\), p value = 0.00) and health and support technologies (chi-squared = 14.92, design-based \(F = 9.96\), p value = 0.00)

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Title: Attitudes of elderly Austrians towards new technologies: communication and entertainment versus health and support use
Authors: Nicole Halmdienst
Michael Radhuber
Rudolf Winter-Ebmer
Publication date: 01-12-2019
Publisher: Springer Netherlands
Published in: European Journal of Ageing / Issue 4/2019
Print ISSN: 1613-9372
Electronic ISSN: 1613-9380
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10433-019-00508-y

At a glance: The STEP trials

Springer Medicine

Attitudes of elderly Austrians towards new technologies: communication and entertainment versus health and support use

Abstract

At a glance: The STEP trials

Springer Medicine

Abstract

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