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Older and Online: Making and maintaining connections in Australian rural places

Older and Online: Making and maintaining connections in Australian rural places. Helen Feist PhD | Deputy Director Australian Population and Migration Research Centre, University of Adelaide helen.feist@adelaide.edu.au. Life Impact | The University of Adelaide.

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Older and Online: Making and maintaining connections in Australian rural places

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  1. Older and Online: Making and maintaining connections in Australian rural places Helen Feist PhD | Deputy Director Australian Population and Migration Research Centre, University of Adelaide helen.feist@adelaide.edu.au Life Impact | The University of Adelaide

  2. Linking Rural Older People to Community through Technology For older adults in rural regions of Australia the issues of distance, accessibility and social connectivity associated with rural living add another dimension to the physical and social challenges associated with ageing

  3. The Information Age

  4. Project Overview Four Stages of Data Collection: 2 Paper-based surveys, older community members (n= 859) and community aged care service providers (n=109) Face-to-face in depth interviews with a subset of community members (n=201) Pilot study with older people (n=48) Pilot study with 4 rural aged care service provider organisations

  5. Pilot Study • 48 Participants • Laptop or iPad • 12 months 3G Internet • Regular meetings over 7 months • Informal, self-directed learning • Advice and support available 7 • days a week over 12 months

  6. Changes in Comfort Levels % Respondents very/moderately comfortable using select new technologies

  7. Changes in Attitude

  8. Changes in Attitude

  9. Changes in Attitude

  10. Changes in Attitude

  11. Self-Rated Health

  12. 89% say their access to community information has improved • 72% say their ability to stay in touch with family and friends has improved Perceptions of Community Connectedness % Respondents satisfied with their level of community involvement pre and post pilot

  13. Pilot Participant Social Networks 9 months on.... • The number if friend ties had increased in social networks by 83% • The number of social network ties kept using the internet and email had increased from 51% to 83%

  14. Pilot Participants 9months on...

  15. Support and Education • Preference for small groups, ideally less than 10 • A mix of 1:1 in home training and group meetings • Ongoing informal, ‘drop-in’ approach to support • More formal course for specific programs and applications as proficiency improves

  16. In Conclusion

  17. THANKYOU For more information about this project: Dr. Helen Feist, Australian Population and Migration Research Centre University of Adelaide helen.feist@adelaide.edu.au Life Impact | The University of Adelaide

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