{
  "abstract": "Objective: This study aimed to explore patterns of internet use and related influencing factors among older adults with varying frailty statuses from a health equity perspective by constructing user personas, thereby providing a basis for developing targeted digital inclusion strategies.\n\nMethods: A descriptive qualitative design was employed. From October to December 2025, 24 older adults with internet-use experience were recruited from one community hospital and one tertiary hospital in Chongqing, China, using purposive sampling combined with a maximum variation strategy. Frailty status was assessed using the Frailty Index, and data were collected through face-to-face semi-structured interviews. Data were analyzed using inductive content analysis. Individualized multidimensional profiles were constructed for each participant and subsequently compared across cases to develop user personas. The three-level digital divide framework was then applied as an interpretive lens to compare the identified personas.\n\nResults: Four core dimensions were identified: health status and self-management, digital participation foundation and capability, internet-use orientation and behavioral patterns, and constraints and enabling conditions. Based on these dimensions, five user personas were developed: Health-Empowered Integrators, Basic-Function Adapters, Entertainment-Oriented Users, Resource-Limited Users, and Health-Affected Users. The personas differed in internet access, digital capability and actual patterns of use, and opportunities to translate digital participation into health-related resources and potential benefits. Frailty was an important health-related context influencing digital participation, but it did not correspond directly to patterns of internet use. Instead, health-related functional limitations, digital capability, educational and learning resources, and social support jointly contributed to different patterns of digital participation.\n\nConclusion: Internet use among older adults is heterogeneous. Patterns of digital participation are not determined by frailty severity alone but are jointly influenced by health, capability, and resource-related conditions. Providing targeted support according to the characteristics of different user personas may help promote more equitable digital participation and access to health-related digital resources among older adults.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "Department of Nursing, The First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University",
    "Nursing Research Center, The First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University"
  ],
  "article_type": "research article",
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 7,
  "authors": [
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        1
      ],
      "name": "Keke Ren"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        1
      ],
      "name": "Shan Li"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        1
      ],
      "name": "Lin Li"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        1
      ],
      "name": "Yue Xiang"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        1
      ],
      "name": "Xiling Yang"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        1
      ],
      "name": "Qinghua Zhao"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        1
      ],
      "name": "Huanhuan Huang"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/7xz06m0cfjw11.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.3389/fpubh.2026.1912591",
  "fulltext_url": "https://europepmc.org/articles/PMC13686913",
  "id": "7xz06m0cfjw11",
  "issns": [
    "2296-2565"
  ],
  "landing_url": "https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2026.1912591/full",
  "language": "eng",
  "licence": "CC-BY-4.0",
  "licence_label": "CC BY 4.0",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "openalex",
      "3317|Technology Use by Older Adults"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7221033670",
  "pdf_url": "https://europepmc.org/articles/PMC13686913?pdf=render",
  "pmcid": "PMC13686913",
  "pmid": "42923139",
  "published": "2026-10-08",
  "publisher": "Frontiers Media SA",
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/7xz06m0cfjw11.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:20:22Z",
      "native_id": "10.3389/fpubh.2026.1912591",
      "source": "crossref",
      "url": "https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2026.1912591/full"
    },
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:20:33Z",
      "native_id": "MED:42923139",
      "source": "europepmc",
      "url": "https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42923139"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "medicine",
      "origin": "issn:2296-2565",
      "subfield": "epidemiology-public-health"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Internet use patterns among older adults with different frailty statuses: a qualitative user persona study from a health equity perspective",
  "title_text": "Internet use patterns among older adults with different frailty statuses: a qualitative user persona study from a health equity perspective",
  "type": "peer-reviewed",
  "updated_at": "2026-10-30T12:20:33Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/7xz06m0cfjw11",
  "venue": "Frontiers in Public Health",
  "versions": []
}