Design Considerations for Mobile Health Applications Targeting Older Adults

Article type: Review Article

Authors: Li, Clara^{a; *} | Neugroschl, Judith^a | Zhu, Carolyn W.^{a; b} | Aloysi, Amy^a | Schimming, Corbett A.^{a; b} | Cai, Dongming^{a; b} | Grossman, Hillel^{a; b} | Martin, Jane^a | Sewell, Margaret^a | Loizos, Maria^a | Zeng, Xiaoyi^a | Sano, Mary^{a; b}

Affiliations: [a] Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA | [b] James J. Peters VA Medical Center, Bronx, NY, USA

Correspondence: [*] Correspondence to: Clara Li, PhD, 1 Gustave L. Levy Place, Box 1230 New York, NY 10029, USA. Tel.: +1 212 585 4631; Fax: +1 212 996 0987; E-mail: clara.li@mssm.edu.

Abstract: Mobile technologies are becoming ubiquitous in the world, changing the way we communicate and provide patient care and services. Some of the most compelling benefits of mobile technologies are in the areas of disease prevention, health management, and care delivery. For all the advances that are occurring in mobile health, its full potential for older adults is only starting to emerge. Yet, existing mobile health applications have design flaws that may limit usability by older adults. The aim of this paper is to review barriers and identify knowledge gaps where more research is needed to improve the accessibility of mobile health use in aging populations. The same observations might apply to those who are not elderly, including individuals suffering from severe mental or medical illnesses.

Keywords: Design considerations, mHealth, mobile health, mobile technology, older adults

DOI: 10.3233/JAD-200485

Journal: Journal of Alzheimer's Disease, vol. 79, no. 1, pp. 1-8, 2021