The “smart tablet education for healthy living” (STEHL) project for older adults is being created to build upon a previous project that was recently funded by the NNLM and All of Us Research grant which was successfully completed (October 2022 to April 2023). The project “noticing older adults beyond tablets,” provided smart tablets (Samsung A7) to 20 older adults living in 2 retirement homes in the DeKalb area. Our team consisted of younger adults (nurses and student nurses) who were engaged in working with the older adults to help with the project. The project provided older adults with a few hours of training and support on how to use smart tablets and access reliable health related information. However during focus group sessions (manuscript for publication in progress) conducted to evaluate the project, participants mentioned that they needed continued training, guidance and support and were eager to learn more about using smart tablets not only to access health information but also to be up to date with current trends health care. Hence the main goal of this project is to create educational materials and space (webpage and website) to improve digital literacy in older adults living in the DeKalb community. We envision that this project will highlight the importance of including underrepresented communities such as older adults living in retirement homes will have access to digital resources. We also vision that they will become active participants in their own health and improve their quality of life and wellbeing due to the opportunity of working in collaboration with younger adults who are student nurses in DeKalb community.

This project aims to build on the previous project wherein smart tablets and a few hours of training were provided to older adults with the collaboration of younger adults (nurses and student nurses). The primary goal is to create a handbook that can be used as a step wise resource guide. This handbook will be provided to participants so that it can be accessed on the web page, and in a pdf version accessible on the smart tablets. A printed copy will also be provided to them so that it can be carried with them within their smart tablet covers. If the participants have any questions, they can note them in the space provided in the handbook for this purpose and these questions will be answered in the subsequent workshops and also considered for future addition to the handbook. Such a handbook can be used by them on a daily basis and then our team will follow up with the participants by providing additional training and support through workshops. Since the handbook will be piloted during this project and also evaluated, it can be further improvised based on the feedback from the participants and the finer version can be evaluated in the next phases of the project in a larger audience and potentially benefit beyond older adults living in DeKalb community.

The secondary goal of this project is to create a webpage and expand the resources as applicable to support healthy living in older adults beyond the 2 retirement homes. A website with the name of the project within the NIU domain will be created with the assistance from the web developer and health science librarians at Northern Illinois University. Within this website, all content materials (handbook, links to health-related resources such as MedlinePlus, National Institute for Aging, and marketing materials for workshops). An exploratory goal is to post the lived experiences of the older adults, how they learned to use smart tablets and the benefits of using digital technology. This can be done by willing participants after obtaining necessary consent as appropriate. Some examples include a) creating a video with a song on how to use smart tablets created by older adults along with NIU students, b) interview of a few older adults and how they learned to use smart tablets from NIU students.

To give an insight into the previous project, most of the older adults who participated were women between the 70 to 85 years of age and from low social economic group. Some of them did not have access to a laptop or smartphone and expressed their interests to learn more about how to use the smart tablets they were provided. During the focus groups’ sessions conducted by our team (nurses, and student nurses) the following were noted.

Some participants embraced the challenge of learning modern technology, expressing enthusiasm about improving their skills: "I love technology. I love the challenge". One participant highlighted the importance of time and effort in becoming more comfortable and successful with the tablet: "I think in general, the more success you have, the better you are, and the more comfortable you feel using it. That just comes with a little time and effort". Progress was evident for some participants, who reported improvements in their skills after attending the tablet training class: One of the participants stated towards the end of the project that, “I'm still a beginner, but I'm a lot better than I was before the class".

One of the students (younger adult) who participated in this project commented “I learned the importance of the need for older adults to be taught how to utilize technology and how they struggle with the use and understanding of how technology works, which had resulted in many of the groups’ frustration.  The session demonstrated the clear need that older adults should receive step by step instruction and demonstration of how to use technological devices.”