Exploring the perceptions and experiences of older people on the use of digital technologies during the COVID-19 pandemic: a qualitative study

Background: Physical inactivity is an ongoing problem throughout the lifespan. For older people, inactivity has a negative impact on wellbeing, which worsened during the COVID-19 pandemic. Digital technologies can be employed to encourage uptake of social and physical activity through remotely delivered interventions to improve wellbeing, however, we need to understand older people’s perceptions and experiences of using digital technologies before implementing these interventions. Aims: To explore the perceptions and experiences of older people on the use of digital technologies during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: Qualitative semi-structured interviews were conducted with 16 community dwelling older people from Hertfordshire, United Kingdom who were all programme participants in a remotely delivered mind-body physical activity programme called Positive Movement. Interviews were conducted before programme participation. The audio recorded interviews were transcribed and analysed using thematic analysis. Results: Four themes emerged from the data. The perceived impact of COVID-19 on social contact, perceived impact of COVID-19 on mental wellbeing, using digital platforms for health or exercise and using digital platforms for social contact. Discussion: Participants reported reduced social contact due to COVID-19. Most participants reported using digital technologies for social inclusion rather than health reasons, and there were mixed views on the willingness to use digital technologies for physical activity. Conclusion: Digital technologies offered a lifeline during COVID-19 to maintain social contact and their use was found acceptable by older people. Digital platforms such as Zoom can be further employed to conduct remotely delivered interventions with the aim to increase uptake of social and physical activity interventions within this population.