A New Tool for Assessing Mobile Device Proficiency in Older Adults: The Mobile Device Proficiency Questionnaire. Academic Article uri icon

Overview

abstract

  • Mobile device proficiency is increasingly required to participate in society. Unfortunately, there still exists a digital divide between younger and older adults, especially with respect to mobile devices (i.e., tablet computers and smartphones). Training is an important goal to ensure that older adults can reap the benefits of these devices. However, efficient/effective training depends on the ability to gauge current proficiency levels. We developed a new scale to accurately assess the mobile device proficiency of older adults: the Mobile Device Proficiency Questionnaire (MDPQ). We present and validate the MDPQ and a short 16-question version of the MDPQ (MDPQ-16). The MDPQ, its subscales, and the MDPQ-16 were found to be highly reliable and valid measures of mobile device proficiency in a large sample. We conclude that the MDPQ and MDPQ-16 may serve as useful tools for facilitating mobile device training of older adults and measuring mobile device proficiency for research purposes.

publication date

  • April 11, 2016

Research

keywords

  • Computer Literacy
  • Computers, Handheld
  • Smartphone
  • Surveys and Questionnaires

Identity

PubMed Central ID

  • PMC9394541

Scopus Document Identifier

  • 85040712707

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

  • 10.1177/0733464816642582

PubMed ID

  • 27255686

Additional Document Info

volume

  • 37

issue

  • 2