Building Digital Literacy In The Older Adult North Nashville Community
Jennifer Kim, Cathy Maxwell

TL;DR
An 8-week digital literacy program improved older adults' ability to use technology, especially for finding community resources and managing calendars.
Contribution
An evidence-based digital literacy program was developed and tested in a low-income African American senior community.
Findings
Participants showed significant improvement in 17 digital tasks after the program.
Finding community resources and managing calendars were among the most improved skills.
The academic-community partnership model proved effective for delivering the program.
Abstract
Digital literacy (DL), the ability to understand and use digital technology, is crucial for older adults’ mental and physical well-being. Using an academic and community partnership model, investigators developed an evidence-based, 8-week, in-person digital literacy program (DLP) for low-income older adults in an African American community to examine effects on participants’ DL abilities. Participants were recruited from two senior centers. The DLP curriculum was based on the Mobile Device Proficiency Questionnaire (MDPQ) subscales (e.g., mobile device basics, communication, date/file creation and storage, internet access, software management). All participants received a personal electronic tablet. Reinforcement of the DLP curriculum and social support was provided through weekly engagement with volunteer student nurses. Pre/post digital literacy was measured using the MDPQ. Forty…
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Taxonomy
TopicsTechnology Use by Older Adults · Health Literacy and Information Accessibility · Aging and Gerontology Research
