Acceptance of mHealth by Elderly Adults: A Path Analysis

Mobile health (mHealth) appears to be a promising assistive tool for the long-term health management of the elderly. However, mHealth adoption rates remain relatively low among the elderly. In this study, we surveyed 108 elderly adults to determine their perceptions of mHealth applications (apps) and conducted a path analysis with the aim of studying the factors that affected the acceptance of mHealth in this population. Notably, the intention to use health apps was positively affected by the perceived usefulness (PU) (β=0.32, p<0.001), perceived ease of use (PEOU) (β=0.24, p=0.003), mHealth literacy (β=0.21, p=0.004), smartphone screen size (β=0.15, p=0.02), and healthcare providers’ influence (β=0.17, p=0.02), but negatively affected by storage consumption (β=-0.18, p=0.03). PU was positively affected by PEOU (β=0.16, p=0.02), favorable features (β=0.40, p<0.001), and quality of information (β=0.26, p=0.003).

Based on these findings, we suggest that high-quality information, a user-friendly interface, intriguing features, low storage consumption, a large display screen, and the involvement of healthcare professionals are needed to promote the acceptance of mHealth interventions among the elderly.