Bridging the digital divide: insights from an umbrella review of older adults’ digital competencies for gerontological social work research

Digital competencies among older adults remain scattered in research, lacking integration. This highlights a significant opportunity for gerontological social work research and practice, leading to innovative interventions for digital inclusion and the well-being of older adults. In this article, we aim to present an umbrella review that integrates and synthesises research on the digital competencies of older adults from six systematic literature reviews in the EBSCO database. From 31,303 articles from 1932 to 2024, 19 reviews were identified, and six met the research objectives. The reviews cover the following: the benefits of digital games for older adults; instruments for measuring digital literacy among older adults; associations between health literacy, eHealth literacy and health outcomes among older adults with chronic conditions; inequalities in the digital divide among older adults; the positive effects of digital mental health literacy interventions; and how technology acceptance among older adults is influenced by the type of technology and its characteristics more than age. These reviews highlight the need for gerontological social work approaches to promoting digital inclusion among older adults, challenging scholars, researchers and practitioners to develop tailored interventions to address their needs in the digital age.