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Table 2 Seniors’ perceptions of their ability to perform activities using digital technologies on their own or with a little help

From: Older adults’ readiness to engage with eHealth patient education and self-care resources: a cross-sectional survey

Digital Technology Activities All By Age Group By Race/Ethnicity
65–79 65–69 70–74 75–79 White Black Latino Filipino Chinese
(N = 2429) (N = 776) (N = 819) (N = 834) (N = 835) (N = 489) (N = 612) (N = 191) (N = 302)
Use the internet to get information from websites or communicate with othersa,b,% 79.4 88.9 81.5*** 68.7*** 83.9 64.4*** 58.2*** 53.3*** 79.2
Receive and send text messages,% 47.2 61.5 51.4** 31.4*** 47.4 53.6* 41.0* 45.1 40.5
Go to a website to get information or forms using a URL (website address) given orally or in a letter a,% 60.2 75.3 61.8*** 47.4*** 63.3 49.6*** 42.6*** 42.9*** 65.2
Print information or forms from a website a,% 70.4 81.7 72.3*** 59.9*** 74.0 58.1*** 50.8*** 50.8*** 74.3
Read health information online on a website like kp.org,% 65.1 75.6 68.0* 53.7*** 70.2 46.5*** 42.8*** 38.8*** 61.0**
Watch a video online 50.9 64.8 53.5*** 37.3 *** 55.3 36.6*** 31.4*** 26.6*** 45.2**
Watch movies and programs sent to TV or computer over the internet (e.g., Netflix),% 34.7 43.9 36.3* 25.9*** 36.9 29.6* 26.3*** 19.8*** 27.9**
Watch or listen to a webinar (live talk given ona website) using a computer or smartphone,% 23.4 34.4 26.0** 12.0*** 25.5 18.5** 14.8*** 10.9*** 14.2***
Watch a DVD on TV or computer,% 76.4 81.9 79.0 68.9*** 77.8 75.6 75.6 58.9*** 71.4*
Listen to an audio CD on a CD player,% 60.0 66.7 62.8 51.3*** 63.0 55.1** 51.3*** 36.3*** 45.5***
Listen to a podcast or music on an iPod, MP3 player, or computer,% 26.7 38.0 27.6** 17.4*** 29.0 21.8** 19.2*** 10.3*** 19.4**
Use an interactive CD-ROM or DVD program on a computer,% 37.0 49.4 37.3*** 27.8*** 39.8 32.0** 24.6*** 17.6*** 30.8**
Download a podcast or music from a website to play on an iPod, MP3 player, or computer,% 19.8 32.6 19.7*** 10.6*** 21.7 14.9** 11.9*** 8.7*** 13.4**
Read books or other print material on a tablet (e.g., iPad) or e-reader (e.g., Kindle, Nook),% 35.4 44.9 36.0** 28.0*** 37.1 30.9* 24.9*** 30.0 31.6
  1. Cell percentages are based on weighted data for everyone in that age or racial/ethnic group. Ns at top of columns are the unweighted number of respondents in that group. Statistical testing compared ages 70–74 and 75–79 with ages 65–69 and blacks, Latinos, Filipinos, and Chinese with non-Hispanic whites. Unless otherwise noted, percentages are based on data from the 93% of respondents who completed the long form of the questionnaire used for the first 2 mailings
  2. White Non-Hispanic white
  3. *Significant difference (P < .05) after controlling for race/ethnicity and sex (age group comparisons) or age group and sex (racial/ethnic group  comparisons)
  4. **Significant difference (P < .01) after controlling for race/ethnicity and sex (age group comparisons) or age group and sex (racial/ethnic group comparisons)
  5. ***Significant difference (P < .001) after controlling for race/ethnicity and sex (age group comparisons) or age group and sex (racial/ethnic group comparisons)
  6. aBased on the full respondent sample (see Table 1 for column Ns).
  7. b69.4% were able to use the internet by themselves; by age group, 80.7%, 70.8%, and 59.4%; by race/ethnicity, 74.4%, 51.8%, 48.05, 39.3%, and 69.4%, respectively
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