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A comprehensive review of mobile user interfaces in mHealth applications for elderly and the related ageing barriers

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Abstract

The adoption of mobile health technology can assist in enhancing the quality of life of elderly people. Over the last few years, though mHealth research has expanded, the usage of mHealth applications among elderly is still minimal. This study aims to evaluate mobile user interfaces in mHealth applications and elicit the key ageing barriers that limit the use of such apps among the elderly. The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) technique was used whereby 28 papers were identified and examined out of 742. In addition to the systematic review, an experiment of using 5 existing mHealth apps was conducted with 10 individuals within the age group of 60–79 to determine additional ageing barriers and usage challenges. The Questionnaire for User Interface Satisfaction approach was used to prepare a questionnaire to assess the overall system satisfaction and was provided to participants after one week of usage. In this work, issues with the user interface that impact the elderly have been highlighted. Three important ageing barriers hindering the use of mHealth among the elderly have been identified via PRISMA, namely physical, cognitive and perspective. Empirical findings from the experiment carried out further consolidate the findings obtained from the PRISMA approach. This study's investigation emphasised the performance of older persons with mHealth apps, their needs and the challenges they confront when adopting mHealth technologies. As a result, technology designers will benefit from this information when developing and designing mHealth apps and services that are suitable for older adults.

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Data sharing is not applicable to this article as no datasets were generated or analysed during the current study.

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Acknowledgements

We would like to express our sincere thanks to all the elderly participants who were involved in the experiment carried out, for their time, participation and response during the one-week experiment.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Information, Communication and Digital Technologies, University of Mauritius, Reduit, Mauritius

    Harshini Ramdowar

  2. Department of Digital Technologies, Faculty of Information, Communication and Digital Technologies, University of Mauritius, Reduit, Mauritius

    Kavi Kumar Khedo

  3. Department of Computer Science and Digital Technologies, School of Architecture, Computing and Engineering, University of East London, London, UK

    Nitish Chooramun

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  1. Harshini Ramdowar
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  3. Nitish Chooramun
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Correspondence to Harshini Ramdowar.

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Ramdowar, H., Khedo, K.K. & Chooramun, N. A comprehensive review of mobile user interfaces in mHealth applications for elderly and the related ageing barriers. Univ Access Inf Soc 23, 1613–1629 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10209-023-01011-z

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