An evaluation of digital inclusion response policies for elderly in China

Digital inclusion is related to the physical and mental health of the elderly, and the relevant policies formulated by the government have an important impact on it. This article analyzes 69 policies related to digital inclusion of the elderly released by the central government of China. The results of the content analysis show that the current policies generally attach importance to the service and building of digital inclusion for the elderly, and gradually shift the policy focus to aging adaptation, smart device use, and learning guidance. The evaluation results using a policy modeling consistency index (PMC‐Index) indicate that the quality of the current Chinese government's policies to help the digital inclusion of the elderly is generally high. However, PMC‐Surface shows that there is still considerable variability in the scores of the main‐indicators for each policy. The evaluation results suggest that we can still improve the effectiveness of policies by expanding the scope of policy audiences, establishing good policy timeliness planning, and enriching policy contents, so as to effectively help the elderly integrate into the current rapidly developing digital society.