What Is the Real-Life Experience of Older Adults on Smart Healthcare Technologies? An Exploratory Interview Study

Zhang, Jiaxin1; Wang, Hailiang2; Li, Qingchuan3; Luximon, Yan2

2024-09-01

10.1159/000539539

GERONTOLOGY   影响因子和分区

0304-324X

1423-0003

Introduction: Smart healthcare technologies (SHCTs) exhibit the great potential to support older Hong Kong adults with their health problems. Although there are various SHCTs in the Hong Kong market, and some adoption predictors have been proposed and investigated, little is known about older users' views on and real-life experiences with these technologies. This exploratory study examined the experiences, functional needs, and barriers of three kinds of SHCT (i.e., smart wearable devices, smart health monitors, and healthcare applications) with older adults in real life. Methods: A convenience sampling method was applied to recruit twenty-two older adults from the Hong Kong community. The interview was designed in semi-structured and conducted in a face-to-face setting. The content analysis was used to summarize the older adults' functional needs and barriers in real life. Results: We found older adults mainly applied SHCTs to address physical health, but there are few technological solutions for mental health in practice. There are four types of barriers in using SHCT. However, social support in Hong Kong community greatly helps reduce the barriers in technology use. Based on the findings, we discussed the possible solutions based on the social and technology perspective. Conclusion: Current technologies still could not fully address older adults' needs for healthy aging, and various barriers still hinder the actual adoption. By deeply understanding and considering the social context, technology innovation can facilitate the adoption of SHCT and promote a healthy aging society.

Healthcare technology Real-life experience Older adults Barriers in technology adoption Social and technological support

SCI

英语

第一

School Awards of Outstanding Achievement[P0040352] ; School Collaborative Research Fund with Non-local Institutions of The Hong Kong Polytechnic University[P0046465] ; National Natural Science Foundation of China[72301122] ; Startup Fund of Southern University of Science and Technology[Y01966117] ; Shenzhen-Hong Kong-Macau Science and Technology Project Fund[SGDX20210823103403028] ; Health and Medical Research Fund, the Health Bureau, Hong Kong[20211201] ; Humanities and Social Sciences Youth Foundation, Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China[21YJC760040]

Geriatrics & Gerontology

Geriatrics & Gerontology

WOS:001307408600006

KARGER

Web of Science

1.Southern Univ Sci & Technol, Sch Syst Design & Intelligent Mfg, Shenzhen, Peoples R China
2.Hong Kong Polytech Univ, Sch Design, Hong Kong, Peoples R China
3.Harbin Inst Technol, Sch Humanity & Social Sci, Shenzhen, Peoples R China

Zhang, Jiaxin,Wang, Hailiang,Li, Qingchuan,et al. What Is the Real-Life Experience of Older Adults on Smart Healthcare Technologies? An Exploratory Interview Study[J]. GERONTOLOGY,2024,70(9).

Zhang, Jiaxin,Wang, Hailiang,Li, Qingchuan,&Luximon, Yan.(2024).What Is the Real-Life Experience of Older Adults on Smart Healthcare Technologies? An Exploratory Interview Study.GERONTOLOGY,70(9).

Zhang, Jiaxin,et al."What Is the Real-Life Experience of Older Adults on Smart Healthcare Technologies? An Exploratory Interview Study".GERONTOLOGY 70.9(2024).