Usability evaluation of mHealth Apps for the elderly: A scoping review Article Swipe
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· 2022
· Open Access
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· DOI: https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-1515149/v1
· OA: W4225318276
Background: Usability is a key factor affecting the acceptance of mobile health applications (mHealth apps) for the elderly, but traditional usability evaluation methods may not be suitable for use in this population because of aging barriers. The objectives of this study were to identify, explore, and summarize the current state of the literature on the usability evaluation of mHealth apps for older adults and to incorporate these methods into the appropriate evaluation stage. Methods: Electronic searches were conducted in 10 databases. Inclusion criteria were articles focused on the usability evaluation of mHealth apps designed for older adults. The included studies were classified according to the mHealth app usability evaluation framework, and the suitability of evaluation methods for use among the elderly was analyzed. Results: Ninety-six articles met the inclusion criteria. Research activity increased steeply after 2013 (n=92). The ratios of satisfaction, learnability, operability, and understandability measures were significantly related to the different stages of evaluation (P＜0.05). The methods used for usability evaluation were questionnaire (n=68), interview (n=36), concurrent thinking aloud (n=25), performance metrics (n=25), behavioral observation log (n=14), screen recording (n=3), eye tracking (n=1), retrospective thinking aloud (n=1), and feedback log (n=1). Thirty-two studies developed their own evaluation tool to assess unique design features for the elderly. Conclusion: According to the three stages of the mHealth app usability evaluation framework, the critical measures and evaluation methods are inconsistent. Future research should focus on adapting usability evaluation methods to the elderly by improving traditional tools or introducing automated evaluation tools.
