1. Introduction

In this study, we will be asking you to participate in a survey about your health perceptions in everyday life and the use of the Internet and digital devices. You will not be asked to take any medicines or intervention programs for the study. We have obtained permission for this study based on the deliberations of the Medical Ethics Committee at Juntendo University.

  It is up to you to decide whether or not you want to participate in the study. Even if you do not participate, you will not suffer any disadvantages. Some parts of the description are a little difficult, but please read it carefully and don’t hesitate to ask the researcher if you have any questions or concerns.

2. Objectives of this study

This study will investigate how you normally use digital devices and how you feel about quality of life and your health. Based on the results obtained in this study, we aim to compare factors related to the use of digital devices and health in four Asian countries (Japan, South Korea, Thailand, Singapore) based on cultural background, and contribute to the creation of a digital inclusive healthy aging society.

3. Methodology

(1) Inclusion Criteria of Study Participants

Men and women over the age of 65 with consent.

(2) Survey and observation items

You will be asked to participate, and answer the survey by yourself conducted from 2022 to 2024. You will be asked to participate in a group discussion to discuss your experiences regarding internet use, health, etc.

The survey items are as follows:

• Basic information of the research participants: name, age, gender, cohabitation status, employment status
• Active Aging
• subjective view of health
• Quality of Life (QOL)
• Questions about participating in health promotion activities
• Questions regarding the use of Digital Devices
• E-Health Literacy
• Digital Skills

The questions asked in the group discussion are as follows:

• About using internet and digital devices
• About social media use
• About the stress you feel when using the internet
• How do you feel when using a computer?
• Questions about support while using internet (family/spouse)
• Questions about support when using digital devices (family/spouse)
• Questions about support for searching and using digital devices (Friends)
• Participation in classes such as internet search and digital device usage
• Experience gained from using internet
• Experience using online apps to make friends
• Why use online applications (APPs)?
• How do you keep yourself healthy?
• Based on your participation in group activities related to health
• What health promotion activities are taking place in your area?
  

  No.	Item	Questionnaire	Implemented from 2022 to 2023		Total Questions
  	Items to be answered in the questionnaire		Self Answer	Group Discussion
  1	Full Name	Voluntary	○		1
  2	Date of birth	questions	○		1
  3	Gender	questions	○		1
  4	Living status	questions	○		1
  5	Employment	questions	○		1
  6	Active aging	Active Ageing Indicators	○		1
  7	Subjective view of health	Subjective Health Indicators	〇		1
  8	Health-related quality of life (QOL)	ICECAP-OScale	○		5
  9	Health promotion activities	questions	○		3
  10	Questions about digital device	questions	○		3
  11	E-health literacy	E-Health Literacy Scale	○		8
  12	Digital skills	Digital Skills Scale	○		23
  	Focus Group Discussion
  	About Using Internet and Digital Devices	questions		○	1
  1-4	About social media use	questions		○	1
  15	About the stress you feel when using the internet	questions		○	1
  16	How do you feel when using a computer?	questions		○	1
  17	Questions about support while using internet (family/spouse)	questions		〇	1
  18	Questions about support when using digital devices (family/spouse)
  19	Questions about supporting the use of digital devices (Friends)	questions		〇	1
  20	Participation in classes such as internet search and digital device usage	questions		〇	1
  21	Experience gained from using internet	questions		〇	1
  22	Experience using online apps to make friends	questions		〇	1
  23	Why use online applications (APPs)?	questions		〇	1
  24	How do you keep yourself healthy?	questions		〇	1
  25	Based on your participation in group activities related to health	questions		〇	1
  26	What health promotion activities are taking place in your area?	questions		〇	1

5. Who is eligible for this study?

The participants, male or female over 65 years of age who has fully understood the research and obtained the free written consent of the research will be excluded if the researcher deems the participant is inappropriate for the study.

6. Project period

If you participate in this study, you will be asked to participate once in a survey that will take place between 2022 and 2024.

About the tentative number of study participants

The study will be conducted for two years from 2022 to 2024 and 360 people will be invited to participate.

7. Expected benefits and possible disadvantages of taking part in this study

＜Expected benefits＞

Although there is no direct benefit to the research participant by joining in the research, the research results may contribute to the realization of a healthy aging society in the future.

＜Possible disadvantages＞　

This study does not use any medication or intervention. Therefore, no side effects of the medicine or adverse events related to health risks may be expected.

8.About the optional nature of participation in the study

It is up to you to decide whether or not to take part in this study. Even if you do not agree to take part in the study, you will not be disadvantaged in any way. You may withdraw your participation at any time after you have agreed to participate in the study, and you will not be disadvantaged in any way if you withdraw your participation.

9.About the information provided for this study

We will notify you as soon as we have new information that affects your willingness to continue participating in the study. In addition, if we have important information about this study, we will confirm your intention to continue participating in the study. In addition, the results obtained in this study will be presented at the Japanese Society of Gerontology, and will be published as a scientific paper in a specialized academic journal in the field of gerontology.

10.Handling of Personal Information

  If you participate in this research, the data related to this research such as specimens and medical information provided by you will be anonymized by using a research ID that does not identify an individual, and the processed data will be kept by personal information manager at Yuasa Laboratory of Juntendo University: Associate Professor Yoshihisa Shirayama (Faculty of International Liberal Arts, Juntendo University) We will strictly manage it. In addition, all the data obtained in the research will be discarded after the research is completed. In that case, we will give due consideration so that no individual is identified.

  The results obtained in this study may be published in medical journals, etc., but we will take care not to identify individuals such as your name. In addition, the data obtained in this study will not be used for any purpose other than the purpose of this study.

11. About third-party data viewing when you participate in the study

In order to confirm that this research is being carried out properly while protecting your human rights, the persons involved in this research (the staff of this university, the Institutional Review Board for Medical Research, Faculty of Medicine, the person in charge of the research secretariat of this research) may see your information. However, the data obtained from you will not be identified as your data in any reports, or paper, etc.

12. Things to keep in mind if you participate in the study

If you are unsure about your decision to participate in this study, please inform the researcher in advance.

13. About your cost sharing

The research required for this study will be covered within the research costs, so there will be no cost to you from participating in the study.

14. Conflicts of Interest

This research is funded by scientific research expenses and does not use any funds from specific companies. Therefore, researchers plan and implement independently of companies, etc., and companies will not affect research results and analysis. In addition, the researchers of this study have declared the necessary matters to the Management Committee for Conflicts of Interest in Medical Research of the School of Medicine of Juntendo University in accordance with the “Regulations for the Management of Conflicts of Interest in Medical Research of Juntendo University” and “Standard Operating Procedures for Conflicts of Interest in Medical Research Involving Human Subjects”, and have received the review. There is no conflict of interest to disclose.

15.Handling of research results, etc.

Since the information obtained from this research is still under research, we basically do not inform everyone who participated in this research of the analysis results.

16.Secondary use of data

The data collected for this study may be used for another study. It is not planned or anticipated yet, but it is likely to require very important consideration in the future. If you wish to use the data in the future beyond the scope of the purposes and items explained to you when you participate in this study, we will notify you on the University’s website after being reviewed and approved by the Ethics Review Committee.

17.About the implementation system of this study

This study will be conducted under the following structure:

[Principal investigator]

Associate Professor, Institute of Advanced Research in Health, Juntendo University　　　　

Associate Professor, Graduate School of Medicine, Department of Global Health Research, Juntendo University Name: Myo Nyein Aung

[Research Office and Responsible Person]

Associate Professor, Institute of Advanced Research in Health, Juntendo University　　　　

Associate Professor, Graduate School of Medicine, Department of Global Health Research, Juntendo University : Myo Nyein Aung

2-1-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8421, Japan

Tel; 03-3813-3111 (ext. 2994)   E-mail : myo@juntendo.ac.jp　

18. Please feel free to contact us at any time.

If you have any questions or concerns about this research, please do not hesitate to contact the consultation desk below. You can also view some of the materials on this research plan and research methods if you wish.

[Consultation desk]

Contact in Japan:

Myo Nyein Aung

Associate Professor, Institute of Advanced Research in Health, Juntendo University　　　　

Associate Professor, Graduate School of Medicine, Department of Global Health Research, Juntendo University

Juntendo University Faculty of International Liberal Arts

2-1-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8421, Japan

Tel; 03-3813-3111 (ext. 2994)   E-mail : myo@juntendo.ac.jp　

Contact in Singapore:

(3) Carol Ma Hok Ka, Associate Professor & Head of Gerontology Programmes (Master & PhD), S R Nathan School of Human Development, Singapore University of Social Sciences (SUSS); Senior Fellow, Centre for Experiential learning.  Email: carolmahk@suss.edu.sg