Valkonen Paula, Kujala Sari, Savolainen Kaisa, Helminen Riina-Riitta
Department of Computer Science, Aalto University, Espoo, Finland.
Suomen Terveystalo Oy, Suomen Terveystalo Oy, Helsinki, Finland.
JMIR Hum Factors. 2025 Jan 8;12:e50329. doi: 10.2196/50329.
Aging brings physical and life changes that could benefit from eHealth services. eHealth holistically combines technology, tasks, individuals, and contexts, and all these intertwined elements should be considered in eHealth development. As users' needs change with life situations, including aging and retirement, it is important to identify these needs at different life stages to develop eHealth services for well-being and active, healthy lives.
This study aimed to (1) understand older adults' everyday lives in terms of well-being and health, (2) investigate older adults' needs for eHealth services, and (3) create design recommendations based on the findings.
A total of 20 older adults from 2 age groups (55 to 74 years: n=12, 60%; >75 years: n=8, 40%) participated in this qualitative interview study. The data were collected remotely using a cultural probes package that included diary-based tasks, sentence completion tasks, and 4 background questionnaires; we also performed remote, semistructured interviews. The data were gathered between the fall of 2020 and the spring of 2021 in Finland as a part of the Toward a Socially Inclusive Digital Society: Transforming Service Culture (DigiIN) project (2019 to 2025).
In the daily lives of older adults, home-based activities, such as exercising (72/622, 11.6% of mentions), sleeping (51/622, 8.2% of mentions), and dining and cooking (96/622, 15.4% of mentions), promoted well-being and health. When discussing their needs for eHealth services, participants highlighted a preference for a chat function. However, they frequently mentioned barriers and concerns such as the lack of human contact, inefficiency, and difficulties using eHealth systems. Older adults value flexibility; testing possibilities (eg, trial versions); support for digital services; and relevant, empathetically offered content with eHealth services on short-term and long-term bases in their changing life situations.
Many older adults value healthy routines and time spent at home. The diversity of older adults' needs should be considered by making it possible for them to manage their health safely and flexibly on different devices and channels. eHealth services should adapt to older adults' life changes through motivation, personalized content, and appropriate functions. Importantly, older adults should still have the option to not use eHealth services.
衰老带来了身体和生活上的变化，而电子健康服务可能对此有益。电子健康将技术、任务、个人和环境全面结合，在电子健康发展中应考虑所有这些相互交织的因素。由于用户的需求会随着生活状况（包括衰老和退休）而变化，因此在不同生活阶段识别这些需求对于开发促进福祉以及积极、健康生活的电子健康服务很重要。
本研究旨在（1）从福祉和健康方面了解老年人的日常生活，（2）调查老年人对电子健康服务的需求，以及（3）根据研究结果提出设计建议。
共有来自2个年龄组的20名老年人（55至74岁：n = 12，60%；>75岁：n = 8，40%）参与了这项定性访谈研究。使用文化探针包远程收集数据，该探针包包括基于日记的任务、句子完成任务和4份背景问卷；我们还进行了远程半结构化访谈。作为迈向社会包容数字社会：转变服务文化（DigiIN）项目（2019至2025年）的一部分，数据于2020年秋季至2021年春季在芬兰收集。
在老年人的日常生活中，居家活动，如锻炼（72/622，提及次数的11.6%）、睡眠（51/622，提及次数的8.2%）以及用餐和烹饪（96/622，提及次数的15.4%），促进了福祉和健康。在讨论他们对电子健康服务的需求时，参与者强调了对聊天功能的偏好。然而，他们经常提到一些障碍和担忧，如缺乏人际接触、效率低下以及使用电子健康系统存在困难。老年人重视灵活性；测试可能性（如试用版）；对数字服务的支持；以及在他们不断变化的生活状况下，在短期和长期基础上提供相关的、富有同理心的电子健康服务内容。
许多老年人重视健康的日常活动和在家度过的时光。应考虑到老年人需求的多样性，使他们能够在不同设备和渠道上安全、灵活地管理自己的健康。电子健康服务应通过激励、个性化内容和适当功能来适应老年人的生活变化。重要的是，老年人仍应可以选择不使用电子健康服务。
