Quinn Charlene C, Staub Sheila, Barr Erik, Gruber-Baldini Ann
Division of Gerontology, Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, United States.
University of Maryland Marlene & Stewart Greenebaum Comprehensive Cancer Center, Baltimore, MD, United States.
JMIR Aging. 2019 May 23;2(1):e12276. doi: 10.2196/12276.
Evaluation of digital health applications to support older adults' independence and family caregiving is needed. Digital health is increasingly providing opportunities for older adults and their family caregivers to educate, engage, and share health information across digital platforms. Few apps have documented evidence of usability by older adults and their caregivers.
The objective of this study was to determine the usability of a mobile app in a community-based older adult population aged ≥65 years. The app was designed to improve engagement of the patient-informal caregiver team.
This observational usability study was conducted in participants' homes and independent living facilities in Baltimore, Maryland. Community-dwelling older adults aged ≥65 years and their caregivers enrolled as a dyad (n=24, 12 dyads). The usability evaluation was a mobile and Web-based app that allowed older adult users to record social and health information and share this information with their caregivers. The older adult-caregiver dyad downloaded the app to a smart phone or accessed the Web version, participated in training and onboarding, and used the app for a 1-month period. Participants responded to weekly surveys sent by app push notifications and to the usability and satisfaction surveys at the end of the study. Participant satisfaction and usability were assessed using the Modified Mobile Application Rating Scale (M-MARS) and the System Usability Scale (SUS).
The final sample comprised 16 people (8 dyads). Responses to the M-MARS were comparable between older adults and caregiver respondents in terms of engagement and functionality. Caregivers rated aesthetics slightly higher (mean 3.7) than older adult participants did (mean 3.3). Although most responses to the SUS were around the mean (2.3-3.4), older adults and their caregivers differed with regard to integration of app features (mean 3.7 vs 2.8) and the need to learn more before using the app (mean 2.3 vs 3.1).
Technology ownership and use among older adults and caregivers was high. Usability and engagement of the mobile app was average. Additional training is recommended for older adults and their caregivers, including that on targeted behaviors for digital health record keeping.
需要对支持老年人独立性和家庭护理的数字健康应用程序进行评估。数字健康越来越为老年人及其家庭护理人员提供了在数字平台上进行教育、参与和共享健康信息的机会。很少有应用程序有老年人及其护理人员可用性的记录证据。
本研究的目的是确定一款移动应用程序在65岁及以上社区老年人中的可用性。该应用程序旨在改善患者-非正式护理人员团队的参与度。
这项观察性可用性研究在马里兰州巴尔的摩市参与者的家中和独立生活设施中进行。年龄≥65岁的社区居住老年人及其护理人员作为二元组参与（n = 24，12个二元组）。可用性评估是一款基于移动和网络的应用程序，允许老年用户记录社交和健康信息，并与他们的护理人员共享这些信息。老年-护理人员二元组将应用程序下载到智能手机或访问网络版本，参加培训和入门指导，并使用该应用程序1个月。参与者通过应用程序推送通知回复每周调查，并在研究结束时回复可用性和满意度调查。使用改良移动应用评分量表（M-MARS）和系统可用性量表（SUS）评估参与者的满意度和可用性。
最终样本包括16人（8个二元组）。在参与度和功能方面，老年人和护理人员对M-MARS的回答具有可比性。护理人员对美学的评分略高于老年参与者（平均3.7）（平均3.3）。尽管对SUS的大多数回答都在平均值左右（2.3 - 3.4），但老年人及其护理人员在应用程序功能整合方面存在差异（平均3.7对2.8），以及在使用应用程序之前需要更多学习方面也存在差异（平均2.3对3.1）。
老年人和护理人员的技术拥有率和使用率很高。移动应用程序的可用性和参与度处于中等水平。建议为老年人及其护理人员提供额外培训，包括针对数字健康记录保存的目标行为的培训。
