Use of Digital Tools, Social Isolation, and Lockdown in People 80 Years and Older Living at Home

Adèle Gauthier, Cécile Lagarde, France Mourey and Patrick Manckoundia
Additional contact information
Adèle Gauthier: “Pôle Personnes Âgées”, Geriatrics Internal Medicine Department, Hospital of Champmaillot, University Hospital, 21079 Dijon, France
Cécile Lagarde: “Gérontopôle Pierre Pfitzenmeyer”, Hospital of Champmaillot, University Hospital, 21079 Dijon, France
France Mourey: “Gérontopôle Pierre Pfitzenmeyer”, Hospital of Champmaillot, University Hospital, 21079 Dijon, France
Patrick Manckoundia: “Pôle Personnes Âgées”, Geriatrics Internal Medicine Department, Hospital of Champmaillot, University Hospital, 21079 Dijon, France

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 5, 1-18

Abstract: The COVID-19 crisis and associated lockdowns have exposed the extent of social isolation among older adults (OAs). Currently, the French government and medical, social, and charitable organizations are working to find means of limiting the multiple psychological and physical consequences of social isolation on the health of OAs. One proposal is to help the elderly become more comfortable using digital tools (DTs). However, the ability of DTs to reduce social isolation is disputed in the literature. This study aimed to collect the views of OAs on social isolation; to identify the determinants of the use or not of DTs, in particular in the context of a lockdown; and the role of DTs in the strategy to reduce social isolation. This qualitative study was based on 27 semi-structured individual interviews with OAs ≥ 80 years, in Côte-d’Or and Haute-Marne (French departments), from March to May 2021. A total of 96.3% of participants had already owned one or more DTs (mobile phone, tablet, or computer) for several years. The lockdown had not prompted the population to equip themselves more. The most common reason for using DTs was to maintain contact with relatives, and 63% of the participants said that DTs have a positive impact in reducing social isolation. However, there is a significant need for assistance and training in their use, especially since many services are now offered online. The participants suggested that the key to minimizing social isolation remained the maintenance of social contacts. In conclusion, DTs appear to be useful for helping the elderly maintain social links with relatives and, therefore, have a strategic place in the reduction of social isolation. However, these tools should not replace in-person interactions.

Keywords: digital tool; feeling of loneliness; lockdown; older adult; social isolation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/5/2908/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/5/2908/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:19:y:2022:i:5:p:2908-:d:762397

Access Statistics for this article

IJERPH is currently edited by Ms. Jenna Liu

More articles in IJERPH from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().