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Abstract Computers play an important role in modern society by allowing people to communicate and be connected with sources of activities whether social, political, recreational, and so forth. However, elderly persons residing in long-term care facilities are often removed from these ubiquitous and virtually omnipotent sources of interface. This project included 24 elderly persons in a long-term care setting who participated in the activities of a computer-class designed specifically to teach them to become independent in operating a computer. After 15 months, only five residents remained in the class, and they used computers several times a week for a variety of reasons (e.g., access e-mail, write letters, work on special projects, search the Web for special issues/items, and play games). The article discusses the five categories of obstacles that may have caused the discontinuation of participation: physical and cognitive, personal, hardware/software/technological, organizational, and environmental.
Namazi et al. (Sun,) studied this question.