Attitudes and Perceptions Toward Mobile and Wearable Technologies to Support Health and Cognition Among Middle-Aged...

Despite their considerable potential to address health and cognitive challenges, mobile and wearable health devices remain underutilized by older adults compared to other smart products, suggesting skeptical attitudes toward these health devices in older adults. Using an online scenario-based survey describing hypothetical individuals with health vulnerabilities, we examined the attitudes of middle-aged and older adults (N = 737) toward mobile and wearable devices for (1) predicting cognitive decline, (2) suggesting health behaviors, and (3) diagnosing diseases. Our results showed that the presence of health vulnerability was associated with higher perceived usefulness, lower privacy concerns, and greater intention to adopt these devices. Additionally, technological readiness, experiences, and various demographic factors influence attitudes, highlighting the complex structure shaping attitudinal barriers against adoption of these devices. These results emphasize the need for more tailored market segmentation and strategies to enhance the adoption of health-related gerotechnologies while addressing privacy concerns.