Home › Research › Health systems and care delivery
Determinants of technology adoption and continued use among cognitively impaired older adults: a qualitative study
Dequanter Samantha, Fobelets Maaike, Steenhout Iris, Gagnon Marie-Pierre, Bourbonnais Anne, Rahimi Samira, Buyl Ronald, Gorus Ellen. BMC geriatrics, 2022-04-29
Topic: Risk, prevention and care in population studies
Technology offers opportunities to support older adults with mild cognitive impairments to remain independent and socially connected, but is often not used. Although determinants of technology use among older adults in general are well studied, much less is known about how these factors impact technology use behaviour in cognitively impaired older adults. This study aimed to bridge this gap in research by examining the factors underlying technology use in community-dwelling older adults with mild cognitive impairments. We applied a generic qualitative design and used 16 semi-structured interviews to collect data from Belgian (Flemish) community-dwelling older adults diagnosed with Mild Cognitive Impairment or dementia and informal caregivers. To get data from different perspectives, a focus group with professional caregivers was added. We used thematic analysis with an inductive approach to identify and select themes from the data. We identified two themes: introduction of technology and determinants of technology adoption and continued use. Successful technology adoption in cognitively impaired older adults is need-driven and subject to individual, technological and contextual characteristics. Specific for older adults with cognitive impairments are the importance of disease awareness and cognitive ability for adoption and continued use, respectively. Although social support can be a valuable alternative to technology, it is an important facilitator of continued technology use in these older adults. Similarly, integration of technologies in daily routines can buffer discontinuation of technologies. Future research is encouraged to validate our findings in a postpandemic era and to further develop a novel theoretical framework for technology acceptance among older adults with cognitive impairments. Moreover, identification of crucial determinants as well as strategies to remove use barriers are also important future research tasks. Clinical practice should focus on improving disease awareness to facilitate technology adoption and policies should invest in training and support of professional caregivers and in reimbursement strategies to facilitate implementation of technology in practice.
Key findings
- Future research is encouraged to validate our findings in a postpandemic era and to further develop a novel theoretical framework for technology acceptance among older adults with cognitive impairments.
Why it matters
This qualitative study identified factors affecting whether cognitively impaired older adults adopt and continue using technology, noting the importance of disease awareness and cognitive ability. It is about technology use, not about treating, curing, or preventing Alzheimer's disease.
Study details
- Evidence strengthLow
How this study scored 44/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal. Scored zero for study design, sample size, effect reported, studied in people and randomised / blinded because the record does not state it.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (BMC geriatrics) |
| Journal's citation record | 2 / 4 | BMC Geriatrics: journal h-index 153 (OpenAlex, 2026-10-29) |
| Study design | 0 / 12 | No study design recorded — scores zero, not guessed (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Strength of evidence | 1 / 5 | Rated “low” in our summary |
| Peer-review validation | 10 / 10 | Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal. |
| How recent | 3 / 5 | 2022 — within 6 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 0 / 4 | Participant count not stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Effect reported | 0 / 3 | No effect size reported — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Studied in people | 0 / 3 | Not stated whether this was studied in people — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Randomised / blinded | 0 / 2 | No randomisation or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Times cited | 4 / 7 | Cited 52 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-17) |
| Citations per year | 3 / 5 | 8.7 citations a year over 6 year(s) since 2022 |
| Impact for its field and year | 4 / 6 | Cited 13.9× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 1 / 6 | Cited by 1 other studies in this library |
| Still being cited | 2 / 4 | Cited 44 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 2 / 4 | Last-listed author Ellen Gorus: h-index 24 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 1 / 3 | McGill University: institution h-index 1,369 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 2 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 8 institution(s) in 2 countries |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 35484488) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Total | 44 / 100 | — |
What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →
Read the original
Free copy unknown: no free-copy check has an answer for this record yet. That does not mean it is paywalled.
Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris
Built from the record alzhub holds for this paper, not looked up. Volume, issue and page numbers are not held in the record. The record names 8 authors; APA and Vancouver show the first six, BibTeX and the downloads carry all of them. Check the citation against the original before you use it.
APA 7th
Samantha, D., Maaike, F., Iris, S., Marie-Pierre, G., Anne, B., Samira, R., et al. (2022). Determinants of technology adoption and continued use among cognitively impaired older adults: a qualitative study. BMC geriatrics. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12877-022-03048-w
Vancouver
Samantha D, Maaike F, Iris S, Marie-Pierre G, Anne B, Samira R, et al. Determinants of technology adoption and continued use among cognitively impaired older adults: a qualitative study. BMC geriatrics. 2022. doi:10.1186/s12877-022-03048-w. PMID: 35484488.
BibTeX
@article{samantha2022-35484488,
author = {Samantha, Dequanter and Maaike, Fobelets and Iris, Steenhout and Marie-Pierre, Gagnon and Anne, Bourbonnais and Samira, Rahimi and Ronald, Buyl and Ellen, Gorus},
title = {{Determinants of technology adoption and continued use among cognitively impaired older adults: a qualitative study}},
journal = {BMC geriatrics},
year = {2022},
doi = {10.1186/s12877-022-03048-w},
pmid = {35484488},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1186/s12877-022-03048-w}
}
Studies this one cites
Referenced by this study and also in the alzhub library, so you can read them here.
Later studies that cite this one
1 study in the alzhub library lists this one in its references.
Related studies in Health systems and care delivery
Also tagged “cognitive-function”
1,118 studies in the library carry the topic tag “cognitive-function”; these are this study's neighbours in a fixed, alphabetical-by-hash tour of them, not the closest in content. All 1,118 tagged studies.