Affordance trajectories and the usefulness of online records access among older adults in Sweden

Isto Huvila*, Hanife Rexhepi, Jonas Moll, Maedeh Ghorbanian Zolbin, Charlotte Blease, Annika Bärkås, Rose Mharie Åhlfeldt, Josefin Hagström, Bridget Kane, Isabella Scandurra, Maria Hägglund, Gunnar O. Klein, Bo Wang, Anna Kharko

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleScientificpeer-review

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Abstract

Objective: The current understanding of the breadth of individual differences in how eHealth technologies are perceived as useful for different purposes is incomprehensive. The aim/purpose of the study is to improve the understanding of diverse perceptions of the usefulness of technologies by exploring older adults’ use of their patient-accessible electronic health records (PAEHRs). Methods: The study applies and extends Affordance Theory based on an empirical analysis of data from the NORDeHEALTH 2022 Patient Survey on attitudes toward PAEHR in Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Estonia. Responses from 3964 participants in Sweden, aged 65 + years were analysed. Data included demographics and agreement ratings to reasons for using PAEHR. To analyse variation in the reasons for using PAEHR, group comparisons were conducted based on gender (male/female), age group (65–74, 75–84 and 85+) and earlier encouragement to use PAEHR. Results: Overall, the findings suggest that PAEHRs have multiple parallel affordance trajectories and affordance potencies that actualise differently depending on needs. The top reasons, pointing to both orientational and goal-oriented affordances for using PAEHR, were improving understanding of health issues, getting an overview of medical history/treatment and ensuring understanding of what the doctor said. Men reported more often sharing information with relatives or friends as a reason to access PAEHR. Women were more inclined, albeit similarly to men less frequently, to read their PAEHR for detecting errors. Age had little influence on reasons for using PAEHR. Conclusions: The study applies and extends Affordance Theory in the context of older adults’ PAEHR use based on findings from the largest national investigation of reasons for older users to access PAEHR in Sweden demonstrating the applicability of the theory in improving the understanding of the diversity of individual perceptions on eHealth technologies.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1-15
Number of pages15
JournalDigital Health
Volume10
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2024
MoE publication typeA1 Journal article-refereed

Keywords

  • human–computer interaction
  • national survey
  • older adults
  • online record access
  • Patient-accessible electronic health record
  • usability

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