Multidimensional frailty as a predictor of older adults’ internet use: moving beyond the use/non-use dichotomy
Aim: Moving beyond the traditional use/non-use dichotomy, this study examines how variations in older adults’ internet use relate to their multidimensional frailty status. Methods: Data were drawn from the Belgian Ageing Studies (BAS), a large-scale cross-sectional survey conducted in Flanders (Belg...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Open Exploration Publishing Inc.
2025-08-01
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| Series: | Exploration of Digital Health Technologies |
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| Online Access: | https://www.explorationpub.com/uploads/Article/A101159/101159.pdf |
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| author | Jorrit Campens Petrus te Braak Myo Nyein Aung Nico De Witte on behalf of the Digital Ageing Consortium |
| author_facet | Jorrit Campens Petrus te Braak Myo Nyein Aung Nico De Witte on behalf of the Digital Ageing Consortium |
| author_sort | Jorrit Campens |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Aim: Moving beyond the traditional use/non-use dichotomy, this study examines how variations in older adults’ internet use relate to their multidimensional frailty status. Methods: Data were drawn from the Belgian Ageing Studies (BAS), a large-scale cross-sectional survey conducted in Flanders (Belgium) and included 2,312 individuals aged 60 and older. Internet use was categorized into non-users, basic users, selective users and allround users. Multidimensional frailty was assessed using the Comprehensive Frailty Assessment Instrument (CFAI), covering physical, psychological, social and environmental domains. Multinomial logistic regression and Chi-squared automatic interaction detection (CHAID) were conducted. Results: Regression analysis revealed that older adults with mild or high levels of physical frailty, as well as those with high levels of environmental frailty, were more likely to not use the internet. Furthermore, individuals with high physical frailty and high social frailty were more likely to be basic internet users. Social frailty was also linked to allround internet use, with those in the mild and high frailty categories being less likely to be allround users. However, CHAID analysis highlighted that sociodemographic factors—particularly low education and advanced age—are more strongly associated with low internet usage than frailty itself. Conclusions: Multidimensional frailty is associated with internet use, with mild and high frailty groups being less internet savvy. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-cda4a5e77f5b40aaa5ff1e37a4cffb06 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2996-9409 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-08-01 |
| publisher | Open Exploration Publishing Inc. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Exploration of Digital Health Technologies |
| spelling | doaj-art-cda4a5e77f5b40aaa5ff1e37a4cffb062025-08-22T08:08:17ZengOpen Exploration Publishing Inc.Exploration of Digital Health Technologies2996-94092025-08-01310115910.37349/edht.2025.101159Multidimensional frailty as a predictor of older adults’ internet use: moving beyond the use/non-use dichotomyJorrit Campens0https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3105-8283Petrus te Braak1https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6534-6593Myo Nyein Aung2https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8175-6309Nico De Witte3https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8957-6425on behalf of the Digital Ageing ConsortiumFaculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, 1050 Brussels, BelgiumSociology Department, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, 1050 Brussels, BelgiumAdvanced Research Institute for Health Sciences, Faculty of International Liberal Arts, Department of Global Health Research, Graduate School of Medicine, Juntendo University, Tokyo 113-8421, JapanFaculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, FRAILTY IN AGEING (FRIA) Research group, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, 1050 Brussels, BelgiumAim: Moving beyond the traditional use/non-use dichotomy, this study examines how variations in older adults’ internet use relate to their multidimensional frailty status. Methods: Data were drawn from the Belgian Ageing Studies (BAS), a large-scale cross-sectional survey conducted in Flanders (Belgium) and included 2,312 individuals aged 60 and older. Internet use was categorized into non-users, basic users, selective users and allround users. Multidimensional frailty was assessed using the Comprehensive Frailty Assessment Instrument (CFAI), covering physical, psychological, social and environmental domains. Multinomial logistic regression and Chi-squared automatic interaction detection (CHAID) were conducted. Results: Regression analysis revealed that older adults with mild or high levels of physical frailty, as well as those with high levels of environmental frailty, were more likely to not use the internet. Furthermore, individuals with high physical frailty and high social frailty were more likely to be basic internet users. Social frailty was also linked to allround internet use, with those in the mild and high frailty categories being less likely to be allround users. However, CHAID analysis highlighted that sociodemographic factors—particularly low education and advanced age—are more strongly associated with low internet usage than frailty itself. Conclusions: Multidimensional frailty is associated with internet use, with mild and high frailty groups being less internet savvy.https://www.explorationpub.com/uploads/Article/A101159/101159.pdfinternet usemultidimensional frailtyolder adults |
| spellingShingle | Jorrit Campens Petrus te Braak Myo Nyein Aung Nico De Witte on behalf of the Digital Ageing Consortium Multidimensional frailty as a predictor of older adults’ internet use: moving beyond the use/non-use dichotomy Exploration of Digital Health Technologies internet use multidimensional frailty older adults |
| title | Multidimensional frailty as a predictor of older adults’ internet use: moving beyond the use/non-use dichotomy |
| title_full | Multidimensional frailty as a predictor of older adults’ internet use: moving beyond the use/non-use dichotomy |
| title_fullStr | Multidimensional frailty as a predictor of older adults’ internet use: moving beyond the use/non-use dichotomy |
| title_full_unstemmed | Multidimensional frailty as a predictor of older adults’ internet use: moving beyond the use/non-use dichotomy |
| title_short | Multidimensional frailty as a predictor of older adults’ internet use: moving beyond the use/non-use dichotomy |
| title_sort | multidimensional frailty as a predictor of older adults internet use moving beyond the use non use dichotomy |
| topic | internet use multidimensional frailty older adults |
| url | https://www.explorationpub.com/uploads/Article/A101159/101159.pdf |
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