Accepted for/Published in: JMIR Human Factors
Date Submitted: Jan 11, 2024
Date Accepted: Feb 22, 2024
Warning: This is an author submission that is not peer-reviewed or edited. Preprints - unless they show as "accepted" - should not be relied on to guide clinical practice or health-related behavior and should not be reported in news media as established information.
User experience of a smartphone-delivered sexual health promotion programme for older adults: Outcomes of a pilot study in the Netherlands
ABSTRACT
Background:
Sexual health is an important component of quality of life among older adults. However, older adults often face barriers in attaining a fulfilling sexual life due to issues such as stigma, lack of information, or difficult access to adequate support.
Objective:
To evaluate the user experience of a self-guided, smartphone-delivered programme to promote sexual health among older adults.
Methods:
The mobile application was made available to community-dwelling older adults in the Netherlands, who freely used the application for a total of eight weeks. User experience and respective components were assessed using bespoke questionnaires, the System Usability Scale, and semi-structured interviews. Quantitative and qualitative data were descriptively and thematically analysed, respectively.
Results:
Fifteen participants, aged 71.7 ± 9.5 (mean ± SD), completed the trial. Participants showed a neutral to positive stance regarding the mobile application’s usefulness and ease of use. Usability was assessed as ‘Ok/Fair’. Participants felt confident using the mobile application. To increase user experience, participants offered suggestions to improve content and interaction, including access to specialised sexual health services.
Conclusions:
The sexual health promotion programme delivered through a smartphone in self-guided mode was usable. Participants’ perception is that improvements to user experience, namely in content and interaction, as well as connection to external services, will likely improve usefulness and acceptance.
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