 | The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA |
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| The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA |
H. Stephen Kaye, PhD, Disability Statistics Center, Institute for Health & Aging, University of California, San Francisco, 3333 California Street, Room 340, San Francisco, CA 94118, 415 502-7266, skaye@itsa.ucsf.edu
Recent data from the Current Population Survey reveal a persistent gap between people with and without disabilities in computer ownership and Internet usage. Despite the increasing importance of the Internet as source of information and a mediator of social, cultural, and political participation, only 25.5 percent of people with disabilities (defined using a limited set of functional measures) reported using the Internet in late 2001, compared to 56.1 percent of people without disabilities. Although policy has focused on accessibility of computer technology and Web sites to people with disabilities, other factors may also limit usage. In a series of logistic regressions of household computer ownership, usage of the home computer, and home Internet usage, this analysis attempts to distinguish between disability-related accessibility issues and other access factors, such as affordability of the equipment, knowledge of how to use it, and awareness of its potential benefits. We find that the gap in household computer ownership can be completely explained by factors not directly related to disability, such as household income, educational attainment, and exposure to and need for computer technology. Accessibility becomes relevant, along with other factors, in influencing both individual usage of the household computer and Internet usage among computer users. By and large, however, economic and sociodemographic factors, as well as familiarity with the technology, seem to account for most of the gap in computer and Internet usage between people with and without disabilities. Policy must focus on both access and accessibility in order to close this digital divide.
Learning Objectives:
Keywords: Internet, Access
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.