Bridging the Digital Health Information Divide in Rural Mississippi: Evaluating Access and Inclusion for Older Adults

This evaluation explores how older adults in Mississippi seek health services information, their preferred communication channels, and how they use the internet. Often overlooked in digital health innovation, older adults participated in focus groups and surveys to co-create insights alongside evaluators and public health professionals.
The evaluation highlights infrastructure gaps and community strengths by examining formal (e.g., health care providers, community health workers) and informal (e.g., churches, family, digital apps) communication pathways, particularly in rural, under-resourced areas. This work emphasizes equity, cultural relevance, and actionable findings using digital health literacy frameworks and community-based evaluation principles. The approach reflects a shift from evaluator-as-expert to evaluator-as-facilitator, offering a replicable model for inclusive evaluation practice. It provides health stakeholders with meaningful strategies to enhance communication access and empowers older adults to thrive in the digital health landscape through shared data, stories, and leadership.

Lauren Etheredge – Research Associate I, Social Science Research Center, Mississippi State University; Katerina Sergi, PhD – Assistant Research Professor, Social Science Research Center, Mississippi State University; Zack Ahonle, PhD – Assistant Professor, CounselHEdEdPsyFound (CHEF), Mississippi State University; Megan Stubbs-Richardson – Assistant Research Professor, Social Science Research Center, Mississippi State University