Computer administrered QoL instruments are increasingly used to assess outcomes. Our aim was to assess the feasibility and validity of an electronic version of the SEIQoL-DW. Pharmacy students (n = 40; mean age 25; 92% women) were administrated both the touch screen and the paper-and-pen versions in a cross-over study. The majority of the students (65 %) preferred the computer version, while almost a third (27%) preferred the paper and pen version. There was no overall order effect and the SEOQoL-DW index mean scores differed with 1.2 between the two versions. Those respondents completing the computer version first had higher scores than those completing the computer version second. The ICC comparing the formats was 0.77 (CI: 0.57-0.88) and the limits of agreement method showed that 85% of the observations were within +/- 1-10 units. Most students (82%) judged their QoL as being equivalent to their SEIQoL-DW score. The computer version of the SEIQoL-DW seems to be feasible and acceptable and seems to be valid alternative to the paper and pen version. However, further validation studies in larger patient populations are needed.

The emergence of COVID-19 has changed the world as we know it, arguably none more so than for older people. In Sweden, the majority of COVID-19-related fatalities have been among people aged ⩾70 years, many of whom were receiving health and social care services. The pandemic has illuminated aspects within the care continuum requiring evaluative research, such as decision-making processes, the structure and organisation of care, and interventions within the complex public-health system. This short communication highlights several key areas for future interdisciplinary and multi-sectorial collaboration to improve health and social care services in Sweden. It also underlines that a valid, reliable and experiential evidence base is the sine qua non for evaluative research and effective public-health systems.

Aim: The aim was to explore the association between internet use, the use of specific internet-based activities and perceiving life as meaningful, among older adults in two regions in Finland and Sweden. Methods: The data was collected through a population-based survey ( N = 9386) as part of the GERDA project conducted in 2016. In order to analyse the associations between perceiving life as meaningful and internet use and related activities, odds ratios with a 95% confidence interval were calculated using binary logistic regression analysis, where socio-demographic factors and health status were controlled for. Results: Statistically significant associations were found between perceiving life as meaningful and internet use in later life. When looking further at the specific internet-based activities under study, activities related to leisure and entertainment showed a statistically significant connection to perceived meaningfulness in later life, after controlling for socio-demographic factors and health status. Conclusions: The results indicated that there was a statistically significant positive association between internet use and perceiving life as meaningful in later life. Online activities related to leisure and entertainment seem to be especially associated with perceived meaningfulness. Although causal direction could not be determined, the results suggest that internet use may support the experience of wellbeing in everyday life among older persons, through the unlimited access to interest-driven activities that it provides.

Background: Innovative multidisciplinary and person-centred initiatives are needed to promote well-being among older persons. In order to approach these goals, both health promotion and the field of innovation studies recognise the importance of the meaningful engagement of older persons in development processes. Participatory approaches are applied within technology development, but previous studies highlight a lack of knowledge about how they matter-especially for the persons who are participating in the co-creation process.Objective: The study explores older persons' experiences of participating in an innovation project. Method:The study is part of the @geing Online project. Semi-structured interviews were conducted at several intervals during and after the project in two regions in Finland and were analysed using thematic analysis. In total, 38 older individuals participated. Results:The older persons perceived that participating in an innovation project can be an uplifting experience that increases their interest and confidence in digital technology use by combating stereotypes. Additionally, being able to make one's own and other older persons' voices heard regarding services targeting older persons in collaboration with local universities was also perceived as valuable. However, the participation did not fully live up to all the older participants' expectations. Feelings of disappointment emerged in relation to their own performance with the prototypes being developed, as well as the fear of failing the project team. Additional sources of disappointment were related to the fact that the participants did not increase their knowledge of new and familiar digital technology to the extent that they had hoped. Conclusion:The findings of this study highlight experiences of taking part in an innovation project focusing on technology design with a participatory approach, depicting the benefits, motivators, and challenges. This kind of knowledge is important in order to improve future participatory practice in gerontechnology endeavours.

AimThe aim was to explore the various associations between subjective well-being and internet use among older adults in two regions in Finland and Sweden.MethodsThe data was collected through a population-based survey (N = 9,386) as part of the GERDA project conducted in 2016. The connection between subjective well-being (measured by perceived meaningfulness, happiness and life satisfaction) and internet use (distinguishing between internet users, non-users and users with support, and diverse internet activities) was studied by conducting binary regression analyses, calculating odds ratios with 95% confidence intervals. The analyses also controlled for key subjective well-being covariates.ResultsStatistically significant associations were found between perceived life meaningfulness and internet use. When looking into the specific internet-based activities under study, activities related to leisure and entertainment showed statistically significant associations to perceived meaningfulness as well as perceived happiness, also after controlling for potential covariates. However, internet use and the different internet activities failed to show statistical significant associations to life satisfaction in the adjusted regression model.ConclusionThe things we do on the internet (the activities) as well as how we conceptualize and measure subjective well-being in this type of research studies seem to matter when it comes to the relationship between subjective well-being and internet use in later life. Internet use and internet activities displayed various connections to the subjective well-being proxies used in this study. Therefore, the complexity and multidimensionality of both subjective well-being and internet use and related links need to be carefully explored in order to deepen our understanding of experienced well-being among older adults in a digitized world.