Accepted for/Published in: JMIR Human Factors
Date Submitted: Jun 28, 2023
Date Accepted: Nov 11, 2024
Exploring Older Adults´ Needs for Healthy Life and eHealth: A Qualitative Interview Study
ABSTRACT
Background:
Aging brings physical and life changes that could benefit from eHealth services. eHealth holistically combines technology, tasks, individuals, and contexts, and all these intertwined perspectives should all be considered in eHealth developments. As users’ needs change with life situations, including aging and retirement, it is important to identify their needs at different life stages to develop eHealth services for well-being and active, healthy lives.
Objective:
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 these findings.
Methods:
Twenty older adults from two age groups (55–74-year-olds and 75–90+-year-olds) participated in this qualitative study. They completed four background questionnaires and diary-based cultural probes packages, including sentence completion tasks, and participated in remote interviews.
Results:
In older adults’ everyday lives, activities at home (e.g., watching TV, exercising, sleeping, housework, and dining and cooking) afforded well-being and health. Regarding their needs for eHealth services, a chat function was popular, while lack of human contact, inefficiency, and use challenges with eHealth were the most often mentioned barriers and concerns. Older adults value flexibility, testing possibilities, such as trial versions, support for digital services, and relevant, empathetically offered content with eHealth services on short-term and long-term bases. They value holistic support via eHealth services in their changing life situations from varying perspectives (e.g., current health situation, work or retirement situation, location, motivation level, activity interest, and capability to use eHealth services).
Conclusions:
Many older adults value healthy routines and time spent at home. This diversity should be considered by offering the opportunity for a peace of mind by making it possible to manage one’s 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 not to use eHealth services.
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