Abstract
A mixed-method pilot study was conducted to identify the barriers that influence the use of AT among Hispanic men and women. Noted trends in gender differences revealed that women reported more barriers to AT use for instrumental activities of daily living and men for self-care. Women mostly reported barriers related to technology cost, appearance, and social attitude. These findings confirmed the need to conduct a larger study with sufficient power to this study's results.
Primary Author and Speaker: Elsa Orellano Colon
Higher disability rates among older women in PR (compared to older men) increase their vulnerability to experience loss of independence, leading to institutionalization and early death. The adoption of assistive technology (AT) by older people with disabilities may help in increasing their independence, safety, and quality of life. However, disparities in AT use exist among gender with women with poor health less likely to use canes and men less likely to use AT for self-care. The theoretical reasons or explanations for gender-based disparities in AT use are unclear. The objective of this study was to improve our understanding of the multilevel barriers and facilitators for using different AT devices among older Hispanics, focused on the influence of gender at each level. We used a sequential mixed method design guided by the Matching Person and Technology (MPT) Model. First, we collected and analyzed quantitative data from the PROMIS® Physical Function Short Form-20 administered to a purposive sample of 20 independent living Hispanics 65 years and older living in a low-income community in Puerto Rico. Afterwards, we conducted in-depth qualitative interviews from a gender perspective and assisted by videos showing older people using AT with a purposive sub-sample of six men and six women from the quantitative phase with the highest levels of physical function needs. Direct contact and snowball sampling was used as recruitment methods. We used descriptive statistics and T-scores to analyze quantitative data, a thematic content analysis to analyze qualitative data, and merging for data integration. Noted trends in gender differences revealed that: 1) women reported higher disability levels than men; 2) women reported more barriers to assistive technology use for instrumental activities of daily living; and 3) men reported more barriers to assistive technology use for self-care. Women mostly reported barriers related to technology cost, appearance, and social attitude. These preliminary findings suggest that the multilevel barriers for the adoption and use of AT differ by gender. These findings are essential for tailoring disability and assistive technology self-management interventions to address the existent gender disparities in disability and AT use. There is a need to conduct a larger study with sufficient power to confirm this pilot study results.
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