JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

Digital interventions have been shown to be effective for a variety of mental health disorders and problems. However, few studies have examined the effects of digital interventions in older adults, so little is known about how older adults engage with or benefit from these interventions. Given that adoption rates for technology among people aged 65 or older remain substantially lower than in the general population, and that approximately 20% of older adults suffer from mental health disorders, research exploring whether older adults will use and benefit from digital interventions is needed.

Objective:

To examine the extent to which older adults engaged with a digital well-being intervention (Happify), and whether engaging with this program led to improvements in both subjective well-being and anxiety.

Methods:

We analyzed data from 375 real-world Happify users aged 65 or older who signed up for the platform between 01/01/2019 and 12/23/2021. Changes in well-being and anxiety across 42 to 182 days were assessed using responses to the in-app assessment, which users are prompted to take every two weeks, and were compared among users who engaged with the program at the recommended level (i.e., two or more activities per week) or below the recommended level.

Results:

Thirty percent of the sample engaged with the platform at the recommended level (i.e., completed an average of 2 or more activities per week) and, overall, users completed an average of 43.35 activities (SD = 87.80), ranging from 1 to 786, between their first and last assessment. Users were also active on the platform an average of 19.36 days (SD = 27.16), ranging from 1 to 152 days. Moreover, older adults who engaged at the recommended level experienced significantly greater improvements in subjective well-being (p = .002) and anxiety (p < .001) relative to those who completed fewer activities.

Conclusions:

These data provide preliminary evidence that older adults engage with and benefit from a digital well-being intervention. We believe these findings highlight the importance of considering older adult populations in digital health research. More research is needed to understand potential barriers to using digital interventions among older adults, and whether digital interventions should be modified to account for this population’s particular needs (e.g., ensuring the intervention is accessible using a variety of devices). However, these results are an important step to demonstrating the feasibility of such interventions in a population assumed to be less inclined to digital approaches. Clinical Trial: NA