Digital skills training and older adults: a scoping review

Abstract

This working paper reports the results of a comprehensive scoping review of the academic literature over the last ten years concerning digital literacy training and older adults, yielding valuable recommendations for practice. As digital technologies become increasingly embedded in everyday life, the ability to navigate online environments has become essential to social inclusion, independence, and well-being in later life. Yet older adults—particularly those facing systemic barriers related to income, language, health, or geography—continue to experience digital exclusion. This scoping review synthesizes the academic literature between 2014 and 2024 to examine how digital skills training is delivered to older adults, what contextual and individual factors shape participation, and what outcomes are most frequently reported. Guided by Arksey and O’Malley’s (2005) scoping review methodology and the Joanna Briggs Institute’s Manual for Evidence Synthesis (2024), this scoping review applies a structured codebook adapted from Detlor et al. (2022, 2024) to analyze 200 documents and organize findings across three domains: learning context, learner attributes, and learning outcomes. A multilevel model from Kärnä et al. (2022) informs the study’s recommendations by situating training strategies within macro (policy), meso (institutional), micro (instructional), and nano (interpersonal/ interface) environments. The scoping review’s findings highlight the importance of learner-centered design, sustained funding, trusted delivery environments, and inclusive pedagogies. While many digital skills training programs for older adults report positive cognitive, emotional, and behavioral impacts, gaps in equity, coordination, and evidence persist. Importantly, the scoping review provides a foundation for future discussions on ways to improve the accessibility, effectiveness, and sustainability of digital skills training for older adults, especially those who are marginalized.