1 Department of Occupational Therapy, School of Health Professions, Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University , Tel Aviv, Israel .
2 Department of Geriatric Services, Ministry of Health , Jerusalem, Israel .
Games Health J. 2018 Aug;7(4):271-276. doi: 10.1089/g4h.2017.0118.
The use of touchscreen tablets has become common in healthcare. This technology has the potential to be used as a motivational tool for cognitive training. Age-related decline in executive functioning (EF) and dexterity may lead to poor performance using tablet applications (apps), but the impact on performance of app-based puzzles has not been studied.
(1) To characterize and compare the experience performance of playing tablet apps of older and younger adults, (2) To determine if EF and dexterity contribute to performance of app-based puzzles.
We performed a cross-sectional study of community-dwelling healthy older (n = 35) and younger adults (n = 34). EF was measured by the Trail Making Test (part B) (TMT-B) and the Weekly Calendar Planning Activity. Dexterity was assessed using the Nine-Hole Peg Test. Participants played three unfamiliar app-based puzzles requiring EF and filled out the short feedback questionnaire.
All participants succeeded in playing the apps and reported enjoyment, however, older adults perceived less success and control. Significant differences in EF, dexterity, and performance were found between groups. EF of older adults (TMT-B) accounted for 17.7%-36.8% (P < 0.05) of the total variance of performance.
These findings have implications for the use of tablet apps for older adults. Longer instruction and training periods may be required for training EF among older adults.
在医疗保健领域，触屏平板电脑的使用已变得非常普遍。这项技术有可能被用作认知训练的激励工具。与年龄相关的执行功能（EF）和灵活性下降可能会导致在使用平板电脑应用程序（apps）时表现不佳，但基于应用程序的拼图对表现的影响尚未得到研究。
（1）描述和比较老年人和年轻人使用平板电脑应用程序的体验表现，（2）确定 EF 和灵活性是否有助于基于应用程序的拼图的表现。
我们对 35 名居住在社区的健康老年人和 34 名年轻成年人进行了一项横断面研究。EF 通过连线测试（B 部分）（TMT-B）和每周日程规划活动进行测量。灵活性使用 9 孔钉测试进行评估。参与者玩了三个不熟悉的需要 EF 的基于应用程序的拼图，并填写了简短的反馈问卷。
所有参与者都成功地玩了这些应用程序，并报告了乐趣，然而，老年人认为自己的成功感和控制力较低。两组之间在 EF、灵活性和表现方面存在显著差异。老年人的 EF（TMT-B）占表现总方差的 17.7%-36.8%（P<0.05）。
这些发现对老年人使用平板电脑应用程序具有启示意义。可能需要为老年人提供更长的指令和培训期，以训练 EF。
