From Disparity to Opportunity: Racial Differences in Internet Access and Health App Usage Among Older Informal Caregivers.

This study examines Black–White disparities in Internet and smart device usage among older informal caregivers. Using pooled data from the 2017–2020 Health Information National Trends Survey (N = 1,005, aged 50+), we employed logistic regression to assess racial disparities in Internet use, social m...

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Publicado en:Journal of Applied Gerontology Vol. 45; no. 8; pp. 1633 - 1643
Autores principales: Wang, Kun, Dong, Yanjun, Zeng, Xiaoyi, Johnson, Charles, Ruggiano, Nicole, Clay, Olivio J.
Formato: Artículo
Publicado: Sage Publications Inc. Aug2026
Materias:
Acceso en línea:Ver este registro en EBSCOhost
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      dt: Aug2026
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      pub: Sage Publications Inc.
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        atl: From Disparity to Opportunity: Racial Differences in Internet Access and Health App Usage Among Older Informal Caregivers.
      aug:
        au:
          Wang, Kun
          Dong, Yanjun
          Zeng, Xiaoyi
          Johnson, Charles
          Ruggiano, Nicole
          Clay, Olivio J.
        affil:
          Department of Social Work, College of Arts and Sciences, The University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, USA
          School of Social Welfare, The State University of New York at Albany, Albany, NY, USA
          Steve Hicks School of Social Work, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA
          School of Social Work, University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL, USA
          Department of Psychology, College of Arts and Sciences, The University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, USA
      su:
        Internet access
        Social media
        African Americans
        White people
        Decision making
        Goal (Psychology)
        Race
        Caregivers
        Analysis of variance
        Mobile apps
        Smartphones
        Secondary analysis
        Data analysis
        Digital divide
        Digital health
        Multiple regression analysis
        Descriptive statistics
        Chi-squared test
        Odds ratio
        Statistics
        Confidence intervals
      sug:
        subj:
          Internet access
          Social media
          African Americans
          White people
          Decision making
          Goal (Psychology)
          Race
          Caregivers
          Analysis of variance
          Mobile apps
          Smartphones
          Secondary analysis
          Data analysis
          Digital divide
          Digital health
          Multiple regression analysis
          Descriptive statistics
          Chi-squared test
          Odds ratio
          Statistics
          Confidence intervals
      keyword:
        Black–White disparities
        health apps
        health resources
        informal caregivers
        Internet use
        Black–White disparities
        health apps
        health resources
        informal caregivers
        Internet use
      ab: This study examines Black–White disparities in Internet and smart device usage among older informal caregivers. Using pooled data from the 2017–2020 Health Information National Trends Survey (N = 1,005, aged 50+), we employed logistic regression to assess racial disparities in Internet use, social media engagement, and smart device ownership. Among smart device owners, we further examined different health-related app usage. Older black caregivers were significantly less likely than White caregivers to use the Internet (OR = 0.23, 95% CI = [0.11, 0.46]). However, among smart device owners, Black caregivers were more likely to use apps for health-related goals (OR = 2.42, 95% CI = [1.42, 4.12]) and decision-making (OR = 1.87, 95% CI = [1.11, 3.15]). Despite lower Internet access, Black caregivers demonstrate high engagement with digital health tools when access is available. Bridging the digital divide in underserved communities may improve equity and expand support for older caregivers.
      pubtype: Academic Journal
      doctype: Article
      src: R
    language: English
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