Effectiveness of laptop-based versus smartphone-based videoconferencing interaction on loneliness, depression and...

The worldwide coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic re-emphasises the importance of videoconferencing in supporting interactions between nursing home residents and their family and friends. However, there is a scarcity of comparative studies on how modalities of conferencing programs impact health outcomes. The purpose of this study was to compare laptop-based with smartphone-based videoconferencing programs on nursing home residents' perceptions of loneliness, depressive symptoms and social support.

This retrospective secondary analysis used data from two previous studies on the effectiveness of videoconferencing programs (laptop-based and smartphone-based) to improve outcomes of loneliness, depressive symptoms and social support (type and source) among nursing home residents. Generalised estimating equations compared differences from baseline measures with measures at 1 and 3 months between the two groups with and without adjusting for the effects of confounding variables.

With the exception of age, there were no differences in demographics between participants in the laptop and smartphone groups. Neither changes from baseline in mean scores for loneliness nor depressive symptoms differed between groups. However, changes in mean scores from baseline between groups were significantly greater in the smartphone-based group compared with the laptop-based group for three types of social support: informational and appraisal at 1 and 3 months; and emotional at 3 months. Changes from baseline in mean scores for social support from friends (at 1 and 3 months) and other sources (at 3 months) were also significantly greater for the smartphone group compared with the laptop group.

The two modalities of videoconferencing did not differ in effects on depressive symptoms or loneliness. However, smartphones had a greater effect on the type and source of social support compared with laptops. Whether the small screen of a smartphone reduces users' anxiety and allows them to talk more on screen is worth studying.