Digital Methods for Performing Daily Tasks Among Older Adults: An Initial Report of Frequency of Use and Perceived Utility

ABSTRACT

Objective

Digital technologies permit new ways of performing instrumental activities of daily living (iADLs) for older adults, but these approaches are not usually considered in existing iADL measures. The current study investigated how a sample of older adults report using digital versus analog approaches for iADLs.

Method

248 older adults completed the Digital and Analog Daily Activities Survey, a newly developed measure of how an individual performs financial, navigation, medication, and other iADLs.

Results

The majority of participants reported regularly using digital methods for some iADLs, such as paying bills (67.7%) and using GPS (67.7%). Low digital adopters were older than high adopters (F(2, 245) = 12.24, p < .001), but otherwise the groups did not differ in terms of gender, years of education, or history of neurological disorders. Participants who used digital methods relatively more than analog methods reported greater levels of satisfaction with their approach and fewer daily errors.

Conclusions

Many older adults have adopted digital technologies for supporting daily tasks, which suggests limitations to the validity of current iADL assessments. By capitalizing on existing habits and enriching environments with new technologies, there are opportunities to promote technological reserve in older adults in a manner that sustains daily functioning.

Acknowledgments

We appreciate the input of the Georgetown Neuroscience Foundation Medical Advisory Board for helpful input in designing the survey and disseminating study materials to its members.

The authors report no conflicts of interest. No funding source was utilized for this project.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1. We conceptualized these as non-digital approaches, but the original wording of the question did not allow for dissociating whether the pill box/medication bottle are being used as external aids (e.g., setting them in salient locations such as on the pillow), whether others are helping to provide reminders, or if the medication is being remembered without any external aide methods. The DADAS could be improved by making these specifications clearer.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported in part by the National Institutes of Aging at the National Institutes of Health (grant number 1R01AG077017) and Alzheimer’s Association (AARG-22-924771).