Digital readiness of the in-home aged care workforce: A latent profile analysis

IF 1.4 4区医学 Q4 GERIATRICS & GERONTOLOGY

Australasian Journal on Ageing Pub Date : 2025-03-05 DOI:10.1111/ajag.70010

Baldwin Pok Man Kwan, Marissa Dickins, Frances Batchelor, Sue Williams, Kerry Hwang, Kate Fulford, Tony Walsh, Helena Jakupovic, Tanya E. Davison

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Objectives

The use of technology could potentially improve the quality of in-home aged care and reduce staff workload. However, there is a lack of research into the digital readiness of the in-home aged care workforce. This study aimed to identify the distinct digital readiness profiles of Australian in-home aged care staff and the demographic characteristics associated with each profile.

Methods

A cross-sectional study was conducted at an Australian national in-home aged care provider between May and August 2023, recruiting aged care staff from services in South Australia, Victoria and Western Australia. Data regarding participants' demographic characteristics, personal technology use, digital literacy and attitude towards using technology in in-home aged care were collected. Latent profile analysis and Fisher's exact test were conducted for data analysis.

Results

In total, 267 participants completed this study. Three digital readiness profiles (higher, medium and lower) were identified. The largest subgroup was participants with medium digital readiness (64%), followed by participants with higher digital readiness (24%) and lower digital readiness (12%), respectively. Age group (p = .003), education level (p = .03) and role (p = .009) were found to be associated with the digital readiness profile.

Conclusions

Three distinct profiles of digital readiness were identified in the Australian in-home aged care workforce. A small but substantial proportion of the workforce had lower digital readiness and may require targeted support to improve their preparedness to use technology in delivering in-home aged care services.

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来源期刊

Australasian Journal on Ageing 医学-老年医学

CiteScore

3.10

自引率

6.20%

发文量

114

审稿时长

>12 weeks

期刊介绍： Australasian Journal on Ageing is a peer reviewed journal, which publishes original work in any area of gerontology and geriatric medicine. It welcomes international submissions, particularly from authors in the Asia Pacific region.