Digitaalisten terveyspalveluiden käytön haasteet ja rajoitteet 75 vuotta täyttäneiden kansalaisten kokemana

Authors

• Hanna Varjakoski Itä-Suomen yliopisto
• Elisa Tiilikainen Itä-Suomen yliopisto https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3947-6036

DOI: https://doi.org/10.23990/sa.143514

Keywords:

digitalisation, eHealth, older adults, user experiences

Abstract

Public health services have been rapidly digitalized in Finland and many other countries. This change is driven by the need to make services more accessible and to involve citizens in monitoring and managing their own health. At the same time, a significant proportion of the oldest population is at risk of being excluded from digital services. The aim of this study is to examine the challenges and constraints faced by older people aged 75 and over when using digital health services, and the factors behind them. The data include qualitative interviews (N=24) in which the media-go-alongmethod were also used. The results show that challenges and constraints in using digital health services were, in particular, related to poor website usability and accessibility, problems with online appointment booking and perceived limited interaction with the services. In addition, the lack of digital skills, tools and motivation, as well as the physical and cognitive changes associated with ageing, were individual-related factors that challenged or limited the use of digital services. The study provides new insights into how user-friendliness of public digital health services is achieved for older user groups and highlights the need to pay more attention to the usability and accessibility of digital services as part of service design and development.