Currently submitted to: JMIR Aging
Date Submitted: Apr 8, 2026
Open Peer Review Period: Apr 9, 2026 - Jun 4, 2026
(closed for review but you can still tweet)
NOTE: This is an unreviewed Preprint
Warning: This is a unreviewed preprint (What is a preprint?). Readers are warned that the document has not been peer-reviewed by expert/patient reviewers or an academic editor, may contain misleading claims, and is likely to undergo changes before final publication, if accepted, or may have been rejected/withdrawn (a note "no longer under consideration" will appear above).
Peer review me: Readers with interest and expertise are encouraged to sign up as peer-reviewer, if the paper is within an open peer-review period (in this case, a "Peer Review Me" button to sign up as reviewer is displayed above). All preprints currently open for review are listed here. Outside of the formal open peer-review period we encourage you to tweet about the preprint.
Citation: Please cite this preprint only for review purposes or for grant applications and CVs (if you are the author).
Final version: If our system detects a final peer-reviewed "version of record" (VoR) published in any journal, a link to that VoR will appear below. Readers are then encourage to cite the VoR instead of this preprint.
Settings: If you are the author, you can login and change the preprint display settings, but the preprint URL/DOI is supposed to be stable and citable, so it should not be removed once posted.
Submit: To post your own preprint, simply submit to any JMIR journal, and choose the appropriate settings to expose your submitted version as preprint.
Warning: This is an author submission that is not peer-reviewed or edited.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.
Family-involvement in mHealth-based Physical Activity Interventions for Improving Physical Performance among Community-dwelling Older Adults: A Systematic Review
ABSTRACT
Background:
Aging is commonly associated with declines in physical performance, while physical activity interventions have been shown to benefit older adults. Traditional face‑to‑face interventions often limit participation due to mobility, scheduling, and accessibility challenges. mHealth offers a promising alternative; however, older adults may still face difficulties related to digital literacy, motivation, and perceived ease of use. Involving family members in mHealth‑based physical activity interventions may help enhance engagement and ultimately improve physical performance among community‑dwelling older adults.
Objective:
This study aimed to examine both the effects of mHealth-based PA interventions involving family members on the physical performance of community-dwelling older adults and the role of family members in these interventions.
Methods:
This systematic review followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) and the Synthesis Without Meta-analysis (SWiM) guidelines. A comprehensive search was conducted across Web of Science, CINAHL, Scopus, PsycINFO, PubMed, and Embase from database inception to 30 June 2025. The inclusion criteria focused on involving family support for mHealth-based physical activity interventions targeting community-dwelling older adults aged 60 years or above. Studies involving caregivers without a clearly defined family role were excluded. A narrative synthesis was used to analyze data relevant to the review aims.
Results:
Seven studies (n = 285) met the inclusion criteria. None of the identified studies explicitly required a family member to participate in the interventions, and only two studies specifically recruited family members. Adherence was assessed using various strategies, with reported rates ranging from 15% to 100%. Most interventions used mHealth technologies for communication and delivery of educational materials. Across studies, family members most commonly served as supervisors, technology-use supporters, and safety monitors. Physical performance outcomes were measured through both physical function and physical activity. Six studies assessed physical function using indicators such as mobility, strength, endurance, and balance; however, the effectiveness of interventions in improving physical function remained inconclusive. Two studies evaluated physical activity levels and reported positive effects.
Conclusions:
This review provides insights into the roles of family members in mHealth‑based PA interventions for community‑dwelling older adults. Involving family members may enhance physical performance, particularly in physical activity. Closer relationships between family members and older participants were associated with higher adherence. However, the combined effect of family support and mHealth technology on improving overall physical performance remains unclear. Clinical Trial: The protocol for this review was registered with the PROSPERO international prospective register of systematic reviews (registration number CRD42024575953).
Citation
Request queued. Please wait while the file is being generated. It may take some time.
Copyright
© The authors. All rights reserved. This is a privileged document currently under peer-review/community review (or an accepted/rejected manuscript). Authors have provided JMIR Publications with an exclusive license to publish this preprint on it's website for review and ahead-of-print citation purposes only. While the final peer-reviewed paper may be licensed under a cc-by license on publication, at this stage authors and publisher expressively prohibit redistribution of this draft paper other than for review purposes.