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Healthcare applications for elderly: a scoping review and a practical roadmap for developing health apps
Sorayya Rezayi1, Leila Shahmoradi2,3, Mahdieh Shabzendehdar4
1Department of Health Information Technology, School of Management and Medical Informatics, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran.
BMC Medical Informatics and Decision Making
|May 23, 2026
Summary
Health apps significantly benefit elder citizens by improving physical health and overall well-being. A user-centered development roadmap is crucial for effective healthcare app creation.
Area of Science:
- Gerontology
- Digital Health
- Health Informatics
Background:
- Investigating the utilization of health applications among the elderly population.
- Identifying key advantages and development strategies for health apps targeting seniors.
Purpose of the Study:
- To conduct a scoping review on health app usage for elder citizens.
- To develop a roadmap for creating effective healthcare applications for this demographic.
Main Methods:
- Scoping review of literature and gray sources from 2015-2023.
- Qualitative study to create a healthcare app development roadmap.
- Thematic analysis of 46 selected studies from Medline, Web of Science, and Scopus.
Main Results:
- 46 studies were analyzed, with a significant portion from the United States (30%).
- Improved physical health was the most cited benefit (highlighted in 100% of reviewed publications).
- 60% of apps showed positive impacts on evaluated metrics, with usability being a key focus.
Conclusions:
- Developed health apps demonstrate significant positive impacts on the health of elderly adults.
- Effective health app creation requires a multi-phase, user-centered, and market-oriented approach beyond basic technological design.
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