Conor Stewart
Research expert covering health & pharmaceuticals in the UK & Europe
Older generations and digital health - statistics and facts
Many developed countries worldwide have an aging population, with one of the reasons being, among others, that healthcare advances allow people to live longer. Those over 70 years of age have a much higher chance of having health conditions and therefore are much more reliant on healthcare services than other age groups. Around a fifth of over 75-year-olds had a hospital stay in the last year in the United States. Alzheimer's disease, which overwhelmingly affects older people, will become an even bigger issue as the senior population increases.
Digital health has taken off significantly recently, and satisfaction has been high with the technology. Therefore, as they have the highest contact with healthcare services, the cohort may also benefit significantly from digital healthcare technologies.
Skepticism of digital health
Looking at digital healthcare activity in the United States, baby boomers and seniors have the lowest rate of use. Although just under two-thirds of this generation had used a digital health tool in the last year, this was under the overall average, and well below use from millennials and Generation X. Although the issue of why older people have lower digital health use needs to be addressed, the two most commonly referred to reasons are a lack of digital literacy and unwillingness to use the tools. Interestingly, over 65-year-olds had the highest prevalence of having had a telehealth visit in 2022 compared to other age groups. However, when calculated as a share of total visits, over 65-year-olds had a lower rate than the rest of the population. Seniors were much more likely to say their ability to use the internet or digital technology were obstacles to telehealth use, as well as access to computers and high-speed internet.Benefits
There are arguments that the lack of digital literacy in older people is overstated. For example, the use of smartphones escalated drastically since the mid-2000s and with the release of the iPhone in 2007. Today’s 70 year-olds would have only around 50 at that time, and therefore many digital technologies are not a new thing for seniors. As previously mentioned, as the demographic with the highest contact with healthcare services, the potential for enjoying the benefits is increased. In a worldwide study of geriatric rehabilitation, the most important benefit video consultations provided was an increase in treatment frequency. While mobile apps allowed patients more self-direction and more confidence, and virtual reality was praised as a more fun form of therapy and enabled faster recovery. Furthermore, after the COVID-19 pandemic and the enforced use of telehealth, satisfaction of telehealth use among over 65s was high and on par with every other age group (and higher than 18 to 30-year-olds) indicating that when seniors are afforded an opportunity to use digital health they are no different from other demographics.
