Aging and Technology Perspectives of Web-Based Chronic Disease Self-Management

Abstract

Many people suffer from chronic disease; however, older adults are at greatest risk of chronic conditions. Although social workers regularly engage with chronically ill older adults, they are not noticeably involved with the research and development of chronic disease management. As such, with recent movements toward health information technology, the efficacy of technology-based chronic disease management is not well established for older adults. Informed by theories of self-management, human development, and technology design, this research investigated lifespan differences of web-based chronic disease self-management. Using a sequential mixed methods design, a secondary data analysis of a diabetes specific web-based self-management intervention (n=462) was performed, followed by qualitative focus groups with 40 older intervention participants, and then mixed for overall interpretation. Results indicated that social workers must take a leadership role in the evaluation and implementation of web-based self-management for older adults to address identified lifespan differences