The usage divide of digital health technology in age-friendly home modifications: an ethnographic study among older adults in rural China
Summary. Rural older adults in China face significant barriers to using digital health technologies for home modifications, even when access is available. The study identifies obstacles including difficulty forming stable technology habits, challenges adapting to system updates, and cumulative frustration from repeated failures. These barriers explain why technological access alone fails to translate into genuine empowerment, highlighting the gap between availability and effective use in rural aging populations.
Cite this article
Zhang, H., Liang, S., Wu, L., Wang, Y., Luo, L., Peng, B., Xiong, X., Chen, L., Jia, Q., Dai, T., Jia, Y., Xiao, L. D., Ren, L., Zhang, X., & Shen, J.. (2026). The usage divide of digital health technology in age-friendly home modifications: an ethnographic study among older adults in rural China. Frontiers in Public Health. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2026.1735560
Zhang, Hong, et al. “The usage divide of digital health technology in age-friendly home modifications: an ethnographic study among older adults in rural China.” Frontiers in Public Health, 2026. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2026.1735560.
Zhang, Hong, Shuang Liang, Lin Wu, Yixin Wang, Lan Luo, Bin Peng, Xue Xiong, et al.. 2026. “The usage divide of digital health technology in age-friendly home modifications: an ethnographic study among older adults in rural China.” Frontiers in Public Health. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2026.1735560.
@article{zhang-2026-usage-divide-digital-health-technology,
title = {The usage divide of digital health technology in age-friendly home modifications: an ethnographic study among older adults in rural China},
author = {Hong Zhang and Shuang Liang and Lin Wu and Yixin Wang and Lan Luo and Bin Peng and Xue Xiong and Liyu Chen and Qianying Jia and Tao Dai and Yuan Jia and Lily Dongxia Xiao and Liu Ren and Xiaoli Zhang and Jun Shen},
journal = {Frontiers in Public Health},
year = {2026},
doi = {10.3389/fpubh.2026.1735560},
url = {https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2026.1735560}
}
TY - JOUR TI - The usage divide of digital health technology in age-friendly home modifications: an ethnographic study among older adults in rural China AU - Hong Zhang AU - Shuang Liang AU - Lin Wu AU - Yixin Wang AU - Lan Luo AU - Bin Peng AU - Xue Xiong AU - Liyu Chen AU - Qianying Jia AU - Tao Dai AU - Yuan Jia AU - Lily Dongxia Xiao AU - Liu Ren AU - Xiaoli Zhang AU - Jun Shen JO - Frontiers in Public Health PY - 2026 DO - 10.3389/fpubh.2026.1735560 UR - https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2026.1735560 ER -
Details
- DOI
- 10.3389/fpubh.2026.1735560
- Countries
- China
- Regions
- Asia
- Categories
- rural-healthcare, broadband-and-digital, general-innovation
- Added
- 2026-04-29