Older and Online: Making and maintaining connections in Australian rural places Helen Feist PhD | Deputy Director Australian Population and Migration Research Centre, University of Adelaide helen.feist@adelaide.edu.au Life Impact | The University of Adelaide

Linking Rural Older People to Community through Technology For older adults in rural regions of Australia the issues of distance, accessibility and social connectivity associated with rural living add another dimension to the physical and social challenges associated with ageing

The Information Age

Project Overview Four Stages of Data Collection: 2 Paper-based surveys, older community members (n= 859) and community aged care service providers (n=109) Face-to-face in depth interviews with a subset of community members (n=201) Pilot study with older people (n=48) Pilot study with 4 rural aged care service provider organisations

Pilot Study Laptop or iPad 12 months 3G Internet 48 Participants Laptop or iPad 12 months 3G Internet Regular meetings over 7 months Informal, self-directed learning Advice and support available 7 days a week over 12 months

Changes in Comfort Levels % Respondents very/moderately comfortable using select new technologies

Changes in Attitude

Changes in Attitude

Changes in Attitude

Changes in Attitude

Self-Rated Health

89% say their access to community information has improved 72% say their ability to stay in touch with family and friends has improved Perceptions of Community Connectedness % Respondents satisfied with their level of community involvement pre and post pilot

Pilot Participant Social Networks 9 months on.... The number if friend ties had increased in social networks by 83% The number of social network ties kept using the internet and email had increased from 51% to 83%

Pilot Participants 9 months on... Email Internet Games Documents Photos Daily 55.3 21.3 51.1 8.5 2.1 2-3 times a week 19.1 31.9 14.9 4.3 Weekly 10.6 Fortnightly 6.4 As required 0.0 TOTAL 89.4 74.5 70.2 25.5 23.4

Support and Education Preference for small groups, ideally less than 10 A mix of 1:1 in home training and group meetings Ongoing informal, ‘drop-in’ approach to support More formal course for specific programs and applications as proficiency improves

In Conclusion

THANKYOU For more information about this project: Dr. Helen Feist, Australian Population and Migration Research Centre University of Adelaide helen.feist@adelaide.edu.au Life Impact | The University of Adelaide