Comparison of applications used to help the elderly

Abstract

Introduction:The COVID-19 pandemic has radically changed the existing infrastructure of medical practice, as clinics and hospitals around the world have focused on virtual resources to help care for patients. Technology has become critical to our wellbeing. Specifically, the technology for older adults is addressed for content that the elderly have the most needs in. The aim of this literature review is to present a comparison of mobile applications designed to help older adults in their basic life activities. Methods: A quantitative descriptive research method with critical review of English scientific and professional literature was performed using the following databases DiKul, PubMed, Researchgate and SienceDirect. The literature search took place from March 2021 to April 2021. Literature inclusion criteria were articles published between 2016 and 2021, open and free access and articles with clearly defined objectives and methods in English language. The exclusion criteria were articles published before 2016, articles with paid access and articles that were not in English language. We reviewed 51 articles and excluded 35 articles that didn't match our criteria. We included 16 articles. Data was analyzed using a content analysis method. Results: The results showed that there are a few different mobile applications for different conditions in the market. All of them are designed to make life easier for elderly. There is evidence that mobile applications are helping elderly population as much as they help health workers. The benefits of reviewed mobile applications are to help reduce rates of forgetting and of medication errors, and also increases perceived independence in managing medication. However, currently available applications for smart mobile terminals used by the aged, which serve as the important carrier of various internet services for elderly people, have obvious defects in quantity, service range, and charm. Results show that in any mobile application that we included in this review there is room for