Older Adults’ Internet Use for Health Information: Digital Divide by Race/Ethnicity and Socioeconomic Status

Building upon literature suggesting low Internet use among racial/ethnic minorities and socioeconomically disadvantaged groups, this study examined how race/ethnicity and socioeconomic status (SES) influence the Internet use for health information, addressing both independent and interactive effects...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of applied gerontology Vol. 39; no. 1; pp. 105 - 110
Main Authors: Yoon, Hyunwoo, Jang, Yuri, Vaughan, Phillip W., Garcia, Michael
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: Los Angeles, CA SAGE Publications 01.01.2020
SAGE PUBLICATIONS, INC
Subjects:
Adults
African Americans
Aged
Aged, 80 and over
At risk populations
California
Digital divide
Digital Divide - trends
Disadvantaged
Ethnic Groups
Ethnicity
Female
Health
Health information
Health problems
Health Surveys
Humans
Indexes
Information
Information Seeking Behavior
Internet
Internet access
Internet Use - statistics & numerical data
Logistic Models
Male
Minority & ethnic groups
Minority groups
Older people
Race
Race relations
Racial segregation
Social Class
Socioeconomic factors
Socioeconomic status
Technology
California
older adults
Internet use for health information
digital divide
ISSN:0733-4648, 1552-4523, 1552-4523
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:Building upon literature suggesting low Internet use among racial/ethnic minorities and socioeconomically disadvantaged groups, this study examined how race/ethnicity and socioeconomic status (SES) influence the Internet use for health information, addressing both independent and interactive effects. Using data from 17,704 older adults in the California Health Interview Survey, logistic regression models were estimated with race/ethnicity (Whites, African Americans, Latinos, and Asians), SES index, and the interaction between race/ethnicity and SES index. Overall, approximately 40% of participants were Internet-users for health information. Direct effects of race/ethnicity and SES—and their interactions—were all found to be significant. Minority status combined with the lowest levels of SES substantially reduced the odds of using Internet for health information. Findings suggest the combination of racial/ethnic minority status and low SES as a source of digital divide, and provide implications for Internet technology training for the target population.
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ISSN:0733-4648
1552-4523
1552-4523
DOI:10.1177/0733464818770772