BRIDGING THE GREY DIVIDE: A CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK OF DIGITAL HEALTHCARE ADOPTION AMONG SENIOR CITIZENS IN MALAYSIA

Abstract

Digital healthcare has transformed the conventional access to health and assisted living services. This practice was once considered as taboo or abnormal. However, it has since become a normal practice for Malaysia’s society. The normalisation of digital healthcare has not benefited senior citizens equally. Some senior citizens experience challenges in adopting digital healthcare services. This paper aims to address such challenges by proposing a framework of digital healthcare adoption among senior citizens in Malaysia. Senior citizens, referred in this paper, are the Malaysians aged 60 years old and beyond. Its conceptual framework consists of four components: availability, affordability, acceptability and usability. Examining availability enables the paper to determine the readiness of capacity of infrastructure related to digital healthcare, capabilities of medical practitioners, digital infrastructure, and digital health devices for senior citizens to use in Malaysia. An examination of affordability analyses financial accessibility of senior citizens when adopting digital healthcare services. Usability is meant to assess the interface quality of digital healthcare devices and experience of senior citizens as users. Lastly, an examination of acceptability determines whether digital healthcare service is trusted enough as to be willingly adopted and sustained by senior citizens and medical practitioners. The paper also examines five moderating factors: age groups of senior citizens, socio-economic status, educational level, residential areas, and living lifestyle of senior citizens. The framework contributes to a better understanding of digital healthcare adoption among senior citizens in Malaysia.