The growing aging population globally requires accessible digital healthcare services to maintain a healthy lifestyle. Smartphones have the potential to connect individuals with digital healthcare services. However, whether older adults perceive smartphones as a convenient means of accessing these services remains uncertain. This study aimed to investigate the perspectives of older Indian adults regarding smartphone adoption and its usage in healthcare services. For this, a mixed-methods approach combining quantitative and qualitative methods was employed. A total of 59 older adults participated in the study, of whom 54 completed survey questionnaires, 15 engaged in semi-structured interviews, and 10 participated in both studies. The findings reveal that older adults have adopted smartphones for various purposes after initially facing hindrances, often with assistance from family members. However, the use of smartphone-based healthcare applications remains minimal. These findings suggest that addressing the challenges older adults face with user interface design will enhance their use of healthcare applications. Thus, healthcare applications must feature a user-friendly interface specifically tailored for older adults. Additionally, familiar and popular application-inspired interfaces, social and family support, co-designing, digital health awareness, and training programmes can further promote the adoption of smartphone-based healthcare applications among older adults.
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Nautiyal et al. (2024) studied this question.
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