Examination of elderly individuals' access to digital public services: The case of Uşak province

Rapid developments in information and communication technologies dominate all areas of life and have a profound impact on the relationship between the state and citizens. The increase in the rate of internet access and use of information communication tools has radically changed the way the state communicates with citizens and provides public services. In this process of change and transformation, the e-Government concept has come to the fore and has become the cornerstone of restructuring. In this research, which aims to determine the access of elderly individuals to digital public services, 'Sequential Explanatory Design', one of the mixed methods, was adopted. Quantitative data were collected on the participants living in Uşak province with the help of two data collection tools, namely 'Technology Usage Level Determination Form' and 'Public Services Usage Determination Form'. Then, qualitative data were obtained from the participant through the 'Focus Interview Form'. According to the results obtained from the research, although elderly individuals are largely aware of electronic public services and find these applications useful, the rates of installing and using them on their phones are quite low. Similar results were obtained in 5 sub-dimensions (e government, e-pulse, MHRS, CIMER, mobile banking). The most important reason for this is the lack of familiarity with the developing technology and technological fears.