Smartphone-Based Healthcare Apps for Older Adults in the COVID-19 Era: Heuristic Evaluation

Stud Health Technol Inform. 2022 Jan 14:289:128-131. doi: 10.3233/SHTI210875.

Abstract

Many national governments have attempted to prevent and combat COVID-19 using mobile health (mHealth) technologies during the epidemic. During this time, governments began developing smartphone-based apps for prevention, call tracking, and monitoring people with COVID-19. An important question is, does everyone benefit from these technologies equally and fairly? To answer this question, we evaluated the user interface of smartphone-based apps developed during the COVID-19 era by considering their design for older adults, in order to determine whether social justice has been considered in the development of these apps.

Keywords: COVID-19; healthcare; older adults; smartphone; user interface.

MeSH terms

  • Aged
  • COVID-19*
  • Heuristics
  • Humans
  • Mobile Applications*
  • SARS-CoV-2
  • Smartphone
  • Telemedicine*