Understanding older adults’ perceptions and attitudes toward digital health and technology in a lung cancer screening-eligible population: a qualitative study
4 affiliations
- 1Department of Epidemiology, University of Washington School of Public Health
- 2Kaiser Permanente Washington Health Research Institute
- 3Division of Public Health Sciences, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center
- 4Center for Discovery and Innovation at Hackensack Meridian Health
Abstract
Background Older adults bear a disproportionate cancer burden but remain underrepresented in digital health intervention trials compared to younger counterparts. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, engagement with telemedicine and patient portals through the electronic health record (EHR) has grown for all age groups, suggesting readiness to adopt digital health tools. This qualitative study primarily sought to understand how adults eligible for lung cancer screening (LCS) engage with technology and digital health in their daily lives. The secondary objective was to assess acceptability and compatibility of a video-based LCS health communication as a digital health tool. Methods Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 15 participants aged 51–80 through videoconferencing or telephone. Transcripts were analyzed using a rapid team-based analysis approach. The Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research (CFIR) was used as a guiding framework from throughout the study, with constructs of interest informing interview guide questions in data collection, and CFIR-mapping to generate a code list in the analysis. Results Our findings generated four CFIR-informed themes, with 8 subthemes: (1) Internal facilitators: comfort with technology, self-efficacy in troubleshooting; (2) External facilitators: leveraging internet for health information, use of wearable devices, patient portal functionalities; (3) Internal barriers: emotional response, social isolation; (4) External barriers: scamming and data privacy. When shown the LCS video-based health communication, participants described general approval of the content and delivery but expressed concerns about safety related to accessing the video due to its delivery via weblink. Conclusions Broadly, we found that older adults had high levels of technology use and leveraged various digital tools (such as wearable devices, mobile applications, and EHR patient portals) to manage their health care needs. Our findings underscore that older adults are active users of digital tools, yet persistent concerns about privacy, social isolation, and emotional burden must be addressed for digital health interventions to be acceptable and sustainable in this population. Clinical trial number NCT05747443 | www.clinicaltrials.gov | Registration Date 2023-02-28.
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BibTeX
@article{vasavada2026understanding,
title = {{Understanding older adults’ perceptions and attitudes toward digital health and technology in a lung cancer screening-eligible population: a qualitative study}},
author = {Anjali Vasavada and Lorella Palazzo and Casey Luce and Magali Sanchez and Matthew Triplette and James D. Ralston and Lisa Carter-Bawa and Beverly B. Green and Hongyuan Gao and Christopher I. Li and Melissa L. Anderson and Yu-Ru Su and Kristine Rogers and Karen J. Wernli},
journal = {BMC Health Services Research},
year = {2026},
month = jul,
doi = {10.1186/s12913-026-15124-7},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-026-15124-7},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Understanding older adults’ perceptions and attitudes toward digital health and technology in a lung cancer screening-eligible population: a qualitative study
AU - Anjali Vasavada
AU - Lorella Palazzo
AU - Casey Luce
AU - Magali Sanchez
AU - Matthew Triplette
AU - James D. Ralston
AU - Lisa Carter-Bawa
AU - Beverly B. Green
AU - Hongyuan Gao
AU - Christopher I. Li
AU - Melissa L. Anderson
AU - Yu-Ru Su
AU - Kristine Rogers
AU - Karen J. Wernli
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/07/01
JO - BMC Health Services Research
DO - 10.1186/s12913-026-15124-7
UR - https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-026-15124-7
AB - Background Older adults bear a disproportionate cancer burden but remain underrepresented in digital health intervention trials compared to younger counterparts. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, engagement with telemedicine and patient portals through the electronic health record (EHR) has grown for all age groups, suggesting readiness to adopt digital health tools. This qualitative study primarily sought to understand how adults eligible for lung cancer screening (LCS) engage with technology and digital health in their daily lives. The secondary objective was to assess acceptability and compatibility of a video-based LCS health communication as a digital health tool. Methods Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 15 participants aged 51–80 through videoconferencing or telephone. Transcripts were analyzed using a rapid team-based analysis approach. The Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research (CFIR) was used as a guiding framework from throughout the study, with constructs of interest informing interview guide questions in data collection, and CFIR-mapping to generate a code list in the analysis. Results Our findings generated four CFIR-informed themes, with 8 subthemes: (1) Internal facilitators: comfort with technology, self-efficacy in troubleshooting; (2) External facilitators: leveraging internet for health information, use of wearable devices, patient portal functionalities; (3) Internal barriers: emotional response, social isolation; (4) External barriers: scamming and data privacy. When shown the LCS video-based health communication, participants described general approval of the content and delivery but expressed concerns about safety related to accessing the video due to its delivery via weblink. Conclusions Broadly, we found that older adults had high levels of technology use and leveraged various digital tools (such as wearable devices, mobile applications, and EHR patient portals) to manage their health care needs. Our findings underscore that older adults are active users of digital tools, yet persistent concerns about privacy, social isolation, and emotional burden must be addressed for digital health interventions to be acceptable and sustainable in this population. Clinical trial number NCT05747443 | www.clinicaltrials.gov | Registration Date 2023-02-28.
SN - 1472-6963
ER -