Page 164 - Petelin, Ana. 2021. Ed. Zdravje starostnikov / Health of the Elderly. Proceedings. Koper: University of Primorska Press.
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avje starostnikov | health of the elderly 162 fications, an existing mobile application can be significantly improved to bet-
ter suit elderly users. This could also be facilitated by creating different profiles
to optimize the mobile application for different accessibility groups (e.g., poor
eyesight and limited dexterity). A user could simply select their profile and the
mobile application would be configured to their preferences. Such personali-
zation features would of course have significantly larger impact and reach, if
they were consistently implemented in all of the major mobile device operat-
ing systems.
When creating a mobile application designed for older adults with diabe-
tes, creators need to focus on four important points: 1) The patient’s knowledge
of diabetes; 2) Record and reminders of medicine taking, blood glucose test, ap-
pointments; 3) Communicate with peers and health service providers; 4) Feed-
back from health service providers (Lv et al., 2018). In view of all the above, the
mobile applications in question can also help healthcare professionals. Patients
would not need frequent doctor’s appointment, as only through the applica-
tion used by their patients, could they find out how well the patient knows and
works within the aforementioned four points.
Fall incidents are also a major problem for elderly patients and also
healthcare. The Aachen Fall Prevention application (AFPA) represents the first
mobile Health application empowering older patients (persons 50+ years) to
self assess and monitor their individual fall risk. Rosche et al. (2017) conducted
a study that revealed that AFPA is a promising tool to raise older adults’ aware-
ness of their individual fall risk by means of a low-threshold patient-driven fall
risk assessment tool.
Conclusions
Mobile applications have become an important tool of our everyday life. There
are a few different mobile applications for different conditions on the market.
All of them are designed to make life easier for elderly. It is important to bridge
the gap between the elderly people and modern technologies, which is achieved
through more products designed based on emotional care and construction,
and by providing an appropriate training program for the elderly population
to use a smartphone.
Well-created mobile applications help reduce rates of forgetting and of
medication errors, can also increase perceived independence in managing
medication, reduction of fall risk, it improves knowledge about their disease
and how to control it, and also improving their communicative and critical
health literacy.
In the future, research should focus on testing mobile health interven-
tions in patients at risk for poor adherence and on standardizing alerts and
protocols for clinicians.
ter suit elderly users. This could also be facilitated by creating different profiles
to optimize the mobile application for different accessibility groups (e.g., poor
eyesight and limited dexterity). A user could simply select their profile and the
mobile application would be configured to their preferences. Such personali-
zation features would of course have significantly larger impact and reach, if
they were consistently implemented in all of the major mobile device operat-
ing systems.
When creating a mobile application designed for older adults with diabe-
tes, creators need to focus on four important points: 1) The patient’s knowledge
of diabetes; 2) Record and reminders of medicine taking, blood glucose test, ap-
pointments; 3) Communicate with peers and health service providers; 4) Feed-
back from health service providers (Lv et al., 2018). In view of all the above, the
mobile applications in question can also help healthcare professionals. Patients
would not need frequent doctor’s appointment, as only through the applica-
tion used by their patients, could they find out how well the patient knows and
works within the aforementioned four points.
Fall incidents are also a major problem for elderly patients and also
healthcare. The Aachen Fall Prevention application (AFPA) represents the first
mobile Health application empowering older patients (persons 50+ years) to
self assess and monitor their individual fall risk. Rosche et al. (2017) conducted
a study that revealed that AFPA is a promising tool to raise older adults’ aware-
ness of their individual fall risk by means of a low-threshold patient-driven fall
risk assessment tool.
Conclusions
Mobile applications have become an important tool of our everyday life. There
are a few different mobile applications for different conditions on the market.
All of them are designed to make life easier for elderly. It is important to bridge
the gap between the elderly people and modern technologies, which is achieved
through more products designed based on emotional care and construction,
and by providing an appropriate training program for the elderly population
to use a smartphone.
Well-created mobile applications help reduce rates of forgetting and of
medication errors, can also increase perceived independence in managing
medication, reduction of fall risk, it improves knowledge about their disease
and how to control it, and also improving their communicative and critical
health literacy.
In the future, research should focus on testing mobile health interven-
tions in patients at risk for poor adherence and on standardizing alerts and
protocols for clinicians.
