Too old for technology? Use of wearable healthcare devices by older adults and their willingness to share health data with providers

Wearable healthcare devices offer tremendous promise to effectively track and improve the well-being of older adults. Yet, little is known about the use of wearable devices by older adults. Drawing upon a national survey in US with 1481 older adults, we examine the use of wearable healthcare devices and the key predictors of use viz. sociodemographic factors, health conditions, and technology self-efficacy. We also examine if the predictors are associated with elders' willingness to share health data from wearable devices with healthcare providers. We find low level of wearable use (17.49%) among US older adults. We find significant positive associations between technology self-efficacy, health conditions, and demographic factors (gender, race, education, and annual household income) and use of wearable devices. Men were less likely (OR = 0.62, 95% CI 0.36-1.04) and Asians were more likely (OR = 2.60, 95% CI 0.89-7.64) to use wearables, as did healthy adults (OR = 1.98, 95% CI 1.37-2.87). Those who electronically communicated with their doctors (OR = 1.86, 95% CI 1.16-2.97), and those who searched online for health information (OR = 1.79, 95% CI 1.03-3.10) were more likely to use wearables. Though 80.15% of wearable users are willing to share health data with providers, those with greater technology self-efficacy and favorable attitudes toward exercise are more willing.

Automated summary

The study found that the usage rate of wearable devices among older adults in the US is low, but technology self-efficacy, health conditions, and demographic factors are significantly positively correlated with usage. Men and healthy older adults are less likely to use wearable devices, while Asians and those who communicate with doctors electronically and search for health information online are more likely to use these devices.