JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

Social participation is crucial for healthy aging, improving physical and mental health, cognitive function, and quality of life among older adults. However, social participation tends to decline with age due to factors like loss of social networks and health issues. Mobile health applications show promise in promoting healthy behaviors among older adults, but their effectiveness in increasing social participation remains understudied.

Objective:

This randomized controlled trial aimed to evaluate the efficacy of a mobile application called Encouragement of Social Participation (ESP, “Shakai Sanka no Susume®”) in promoting social participation and physical activity among community-dwelling older adults.

Methods:

The study recruited 181 community-dwelling adults aged 60 years or older from two municipalities in Japan and through an online research panel. Participants were randomly assigned to either the intervention group (n=87), which used the ESP app for 12 weeks, or the control group (n=94), which used only Google Fit. The ESP app incorporated features such as self-monitoring of social participation, personalized feedback, gamification elements, and educational content. Primary outcomes were changes in social participation frequency over the previous two months and changes in step counts, measured at baseline and Week 12. Secondary outcomes included changes in specific types of social activities and subjective well-being. Data were analyzed using analysis of covariance and linear mixed-effects models.

Results:

The intervention group showed a significantly greater increase in social participation frequency compared to the control group (adjusted difference: 3.03; 95% CI: 0.17 to 5.90; P = .04). Specifically, the intervention group demonstrated higher frequencies of participation in hobbies (adjusted difference: 0.82; 95% CI: 0.01 to 1.63) and cultural clubs (adjusted difference: 0.65; 95% CI: 0.07 to 1.23) compared to the control group. However, there were no significant differences in weekly step counts between the groups. Subgroup analyses suggested potentially larger effects among participants who were older than 70 years, female, had lower educational attainment, and were recruited from community settings, although only female and the lower educational attainment subgroups demonstrated 95% CIs that did not encompass zero.

Conclusions:

The ESP mobile application effectively promoted social participation among community-dwelling older adults, particularly in hobbies and cultural club activities. However, it did not significantly impact physical activity levels as measured by step counts. These findings suggest that mobile applications can be valuable tools for encouraging social engagement in older populations, potentially contributing to healthy aging. Future research should focus on optimizing app features to sustain long-term engagement and exploring strategies to enhance physical activity alongside social participation. Clinical Trial: University Medical Information Network Clinical Trial Registry (UMIN000049045)