Abstract
Background: Over the years, society has shifted more and more to the online world. Covid-19 has highlighted digital inequalities across the world due to the increase in e-health services. Subsequently, different groups of individuals are more susceptible to digital inequalities, such as the elderly. E-health refers to the delivery or enhancement of health services and information through the internet. Consequently, it is not clear whether or how digital inequalities impact health inequalities, due to the online shift of healthcare appointments, with no imminent plans on reverting fully to face-to-face contact. The largest group of individuals who experience digital inequalities are older adults. Additionally, older adults are more likely to need medical appointments in comparison to their younger counterparts, therefore, with the increased digitalisation of healthcare, this could reduce older adults' access. Communicative e-health services within this research refers to any service a patient receives or seeks online with them actively interacting with a human/clinician, for example, an online GP appointment or an online talking therapy session. Aims: To understand the positive and negative experiences of older adults using communicative e-health services and to identify any barriers and facilitators. Methods: A meta-ethnography will be conducted to qualitatively synthesise the literature around older adults and communicative e-health services. This qualitative synthesis builds on a previous systemic review that identified key issues which impact information and communication technology adoption amongst older adults. A systematic search, with terms relating to 'older adults', 'e-health', 'technology' and 'appointments', will be conducted on six databases: MEDLINE, ASSIA, CINAHL, PsycArticles, PsychInfo and British Nursing Index. A date range will be implemented on the search, with only literature after January 2014 being eligible for the synthesis. Findings: The poster will present findings from the meta-ethnography, providing older adults' experiences of using communicative e-health services and highlighting facilitators and barriers.