Abstract

People over 60 years have found themselves caring for other dependent older adults in many countries. This situation is an especially relevant topic in Latin America, where the lack of care systems affects the lives of caregivers. Research has shown that the Internet is a helpful tool in providing information and methods to minimize the negative consequences of caregiving but also, age is negatively related to its use. Thus, using the national representative Chilean Sociodemographic Characterization Survey (2017), we performed weighted descriptive analysis and weighted logistic regressions of five types of Internet use related to information seeking, communication, and entertainment, in association with sociodemographic characteristics. We included sociodemographic variables such as age, gender, education level, marital status, and the number of people living within the household among a subsample of older caregivers. Education level was a significant and positive predictor of all types of Internet use among caregivers, while age decreased the probability of using the Internet. Gender was only associated with communication through social networks, where females were more likely to report this type of use. This information helps develop interventions to overcome the barriers of age and educational level, allowing the most vulnerable older caregivers to access the benefits of technology use.