Home › Research › Risk factors
Technology literacy and access to digital resources for remote assessment among adults enrolled in Alzheimer's disease research
Okafor Maureen, Yang Zhiyi, Vickers Kayci L, Sanders Katherine, Simama Najé, Hewitt Kelsey C, Lah James, Levey Allan I et al.. Journal of Alzheimer's disease : JAD, 2024-12-11
Topic: Amyloid, tau and blood-test diagnosis
The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic accelerated development of innovative methods for conducting research remotely via digital technologies. However, few studies have examined participant technological literacy skills or access as key social determinants of brain health in aging populations at risk of Alzheimer's disease and other dementias. To identify associations of sociodemographic and clinical characteristics, cognitive status and geolocation with digital technology access and skill within dementia research cohorts. A self-administered questionnaire surveyed digital access and literacy skills in persons enrolled across various studies conducted at Emory Goizueta Alzheimer's Disease Research Center. We investigated cognitive and sociodemographic characteristics, and neighborhood disadvantage related to these digital attributes. Of 1860 participants (mean age: 65.3 years (SD:11.4)) surveyed, 71.6% were women, 87.1% Whites, 10.4% African Americans, and 46.9% had postgraduate-level education. Most participants had access to digital devices: desktop (53.7%), laptop (81.6%), tablet (71.6%), smartphone (94.6%), internet (82.0%), or videoconferencing (95.5%). Cognitively unimpaired participants had higher odds of digital access (OR:3.75; 95% CI:2.45-5.73) and skill (OR:1.22; 95% CI:1.14-1.30). Although Whites were likelier to have access (OR:1.36; 95% CI:1.01-1.82) than African Americans, no differences were found in skill between the two groups. Living in more disadvantaged neighborhoods was significantly associated with lower technology skills (OR:0.86; 95% CI:0.82-0.91). Cognitive impairment, race, and neighborhood socioeconomic disadvantage are significant barriers which limit digital access and skill. Improving digital knowledge, skill-building, and geographic access may encourage research participation especially in geographically remote or disadvantaged areas and help narrow sociodemographic and racial disparities existing in dementia research.
Key findings
- Cognitively unimpaired participants had higher odds of digital access (OR:3.75; 95% CI:2.45-5.73) and skill (OR:1.22; 95% CI:1.14-1.30).
- Living in more disadvantaged neighborhoods was significantly associated with lower technology skills (OR:0.86; 95% CI:0.82-0.91).
- Cognitive impairment, race, and neighborhood socioeconomic disadvantage are significant barriers which limit digital access and skill.
Why it matters
Among adults enrolled in Alzheimer's research, cognitive impairment, race, and neighborhood disadvantage were linked to lower digital access and skill. This matters for who can take part in remote research assessments, not for treating or preventing the disease itself.
New to this subject? Start with our plain-English guide: Risk factors, ranked →
Study details
- Participants1,860
- Effect size71.6%; 87.1%; 10.4%
- Evidence strengthLow
How this study scored 45/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal. Scored zero for study design and randomised / blinded because the record does not state it.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (Journal of Alzheimer's disease : JAD) |
| Journal's citation record | 2 / 4 | Journal of Alzheimer s Disease: journal h-index 218 (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 | 4 / 5 | 2024 — within 3 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 3 / 4 | 1,860 participants |
| Effect reported | 2 / 3 | Effect reported as a number, without an interval or test |
| Studied in people | 3 / 3 | Studied in people (participant count stated) |
| Randomised / blinded | 0 / 2 | No randomisation or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Times cited | 2 / 7 | Cited 7 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 1 / 5 | 1.8 citations a year over 4 year(s) since 2024 |
| Impact for its field and year | 3 / 6 | Cited 6.1× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 0 / 6 | No other study in this library cites it |
| Still being cited | 1 / 4 | Cited 7 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 2 / 4 | Last-listed author Ihab M. Hajjar: h-index 44 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 1 / 3 | Emory University: institution h-index 1,360 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 1 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 2 institution(s) in 1 country |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 39659188) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Total | 45 / 100 | — |
What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →
Read the original
May need a subscription OpenAlex found no free copy of the full text (checked 6 Feb 1020), so the publisher may charge for it. The PubMed abstract is free.
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's author list ends in “et al.”, so not every author is named. Check the citation against the original before you use it.
APA 7th
Maureen, O., Zhiyi, Y., Vickers Kayci, L., Katherine, S., Najé, S., Hewitt Kelsey, C., et al. (2024). Technology literacy and access to digital resources for remote assessment among adults enrolled in Alzheimer's disease research. Journal of Alzheimer's disease : JAD. https://doi.org/10.1177/13872877241297496
Vancouver
Maureen O, Zhiyi Y, Vickers Kayci L, Katherine S, Najé S, Hewitt Kelsey C, et al. Technology literacy and access to digital resources for remote assessment among adults enrolled in Alzheimer's disease research. Journal of Alzheimer's disease : JAD. 2024. doi:10.1177/13872877241297496. PMID: 39659188.
BibTeX
@article{maureen2024-39659188,
author = {Maureen, Okafor and Zhiyi, Yang and Vickers Kayci, L. and Katherine, Sanders and Najé, Simama and Hewitt Kelsey, C. and James, Lah and Levey Allan, I. and others},
title = {{Technology literacy and access to digital resources for remote assessment among adults enrolled in Alzheimer's disease research}},
journal = {Journal of Alzheimer's disease : JAD},
year = {2024},
doi = {10.1177/13872877241297496},
pmid = {39659188},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1177/13872877241297496}
}
Studies this one cites
Referenced by this study and also in the alzhub library, so you can read them here.
Related studies in Risk factors
Also in Risk factors
356 studies in the library are filed under Risk factors with no topic tag they share with another; these are this study's neighbours in a fixed tour of them. The Risk factors hub.