Older Adults' Use of and Interest in Technology and Applications for Health Management: A Survey Study

Older adults face challenges with managing their medications, obtaining health education, and accessing health services. Mobile health (mHealth), defined as any medical or public health practice facilitated through mobile devices, could help to overcome these difficulties.

To determine what technologies and apps are in current use by older adults, to explore the types of technologies and apps that may be of interest to people in this age group, to explore concerns about technologies, and to examine any age-related differences.

Adults 60 years of age or older were invited to complete a 35-item electronic survey, in either French or English, which was distributed through social media and by email from organizations working with older adults. The survey was conducted in mid-2020.

A total of 266 respondents completed some or all of the survey. Most participants had a mobile phone (229/243, 94.2%), and approximately one-third (78/222, 35.1%) had used a health-related app in the previous 12 months; this level of usage was consistent across age groups. Most respondents were interested in using an app to improve their health (171/225, 76.0%), with variation by age: highest among those 60-64 years of age (82/95, 86.3%), lower among those 80 years or older (40/52, 76.9%), and lowest among those 65-69 years of age (6/14, 42.9%). Most older adults were interested in using an app to ask questions of pharmacists (161/219, 73.5%) and to review their medications (154/218, 70.6%). Participants' mHealth concerns focused on costs, disclosure of personal information, effectiveness, usability, and endorsement by health care providers. The study limitations included challenges related to electronic recruitment and survey distribution, as well as a high representation of participants with postsecondary education.

These findings suggest that a substantial proportion of older adults are already using and are interested in using mHealth for health information, to ask questions, and/or to review their medications with a health care team member.