1. 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 Life Impact | The University of Adelaide
helen.feist@adelaide.edu.au

2. 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

3. The Information Age

4. 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

5. Pilot Study
• 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

7. Changes in Comfort Levels
Online Banking
Telephone Banking Pre-test
Post-test
Internet
Personal
Computer/iPad*
EFTPOS
ATM
Mobile Phone
Microwave
Television
0 20 40 60 80 100 120
Percent
% Respondents very/moderately comfortable using select new technologies

8. Changes in Attitude
I can see no use for new technologies in my life
Pre-test
Post-test
New technologies are too expensive for me
I am too old to learn about new technologies
New technology is changing too fast for me to keep up
New technologies are too complex for me to use
I would use new technologies if they were easier to use
I would use new technologies more if my family and friends used
them
I would use new technologies more if I had more advice and
support
I would use new technologies more if I had opportunities for
training
New technologies make it easy to stay in touch with family and
friends
I use new technologies to make life easier
New technologies are very useful to me
0 20 40 60 80 100
Percent

9. Changes in Attitude
I can see no use for new technologies in my life
Pre-test
Post-test
New technologies are too expensive for me
I am too old to learn about new technologies
New technology is changing too fast for me to keep up
New technologies are too complex for me to use
I would use new technologies if they were easier to use
I would use new technologies more if my family and friends used
them
I would use new technologies more if I had more advice and
support
I would use new technologies more if I had opportunities for
training
New technologies make it easy to stay in touch with family and
friends
I use new technologies to make life easier
New technologies are very useful to me
0 20 40 60 80 100
Percent

10. Changes in Attitude
I can see no use for new technologies in my life
Pre-test
Post-test
New technologies are too expensive for me
I am too old to learn about new technologies
New technology is changing too fast for me to keep up
New technologies are too complex for me to use
I would use new technologies if they were easier to use
I would use new technologies more if my family and friends used
them
I would use new technologies more if I had more advice and
support
I would use new technologies more if I had opportunities for
training
New technologies make it easy to stay in touch with family and
friends
I use new technologies to make life easier
New technologies are very useful to me
0 20 40 60 80 100
Percent

11. Changes in Attitude
I can see no use for new technologies in my life
Pre-test
Post-test
New technologies are too expensive for me
I am too old to learn about new technologies
New technology is changing too fast for me to keep up
New technologies are too complex for me to use
I would use new technologies if they were easier to use
I would use new technologies more if my family and friends used
them
I would use new technologies more if I had more advice and
support
I would use new technologies more if I had opportunities for
training
New technologies make it easy to stay in touch with family and
friends
I use new technologies to make life easier
New technologies are very useful to me
0 20 40 60 80 100
Percent

12. Self-Rated Health
50
45
40
35
30
Percent
25
Pre-pilot
20 Post-pilot
15
10
5
0
Excellent/Very Good Fair/Poor
Good

13. Perceptions of Community
Connectedness
Post-pilot
Pre-pilot
75 80 85 90 95 100
Percent
% Respondents satisfied with their level of community involvement pre and post pilot
89% say their access to community information has improved
72% say their ability to stay in touch with family and friends has improved

14. 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%

15. 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
19.1 31.9 14.9 4.3 4.3
week
Weekly 10.6 10.6 2.1 4.3 8.5
Fortnightly 2.1 4.3 2.1 2.1 6.4
As required 2.1 6.4 0.0 6.4 2.1
TOTAL 89.4 74.5 70.2 25.5 23.4

16. 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

17. In Conclusion

18. 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