The effect of m-health applications on self-care improvement in older adults: A systematic review

Four electronic databases were searched on March 6, 2020 including Scopus, PubMed, ISI, and Embase
Our search consisted of concepts of “self-care,” “elderly” and “Mobile device.” English journal papers and, RCTs conducted for individuals older than 60 in the last 10 years were included. A narrative approach was used to synthesize the data due to the heterogeneous nature of the data.
Initially, 3047 studies were obtained and finally 19 studies were identified for deep analysis. 13 outcomes were identified in m-health interventions to help older adults’ self-care. Each outcome has at least one or more positive results. The psychological status and clinical outcome measures were all significantly improved.
According to the findings, it is not possible to draw a definite positive decision about the effectiveness of interventions on older adults because the measures are very diverse and have been measured with different tools. However, it might be declared that m-health interventions have one or more positive results and can be used along with other interventions to improve the health of older adults.

本研究于2020年3月6日检索了Scopus、PubMed、ISI及Embase四大电子数据库。本次检索的主题涵盖"自我照护""老年人"与"移动设备"三大概念范畴，纳入近10年间针对60岁以上人群开展的英文期刊论文及随机对照试验（Randomized Controlled Trial, RCT）。鉴于研究数据存在异质性，本研究采用叙述性综合法对数据进行整合分析。
初检共获取3047篇文献，最终纳入19篇文献开展深入分析。针对辅助老年人自我照护的移动健康（Mobile Health, mHealth）干预，共识别出13项结局指标，每项指标均至少存在一项及以上阳性结果；研究对象的心理状态与临床结局指标均得到显著改善。
基于研究结果，由于所采用的测评工具多样且测评指标各异，目前尚无法对老年人干预措施的有效性作出明确的肯定性结论。但可以明确的是，移动健康干预至少存在一项及以上阳性结果，可联合其他干预措施用于改善老年人健康状况。