Self-care ability and sense of security among older persons when using an app as a tool for support.

Abstract

The need for home care among older persons is increasing, and mHealth is evolving to help meet the challenge. When developing an app to help maintain their health, it is essential to incorporate older persons' preferences. To describe and evaluate the experiences of self-care support and sense of security among older persons using an interactive app to report health concerns. The study had a descriptive and evaluative design. Qualitative and quantitative methods were applied to achieve a broader understanding. Ethical approval was obtained from the Regional Ethical Review Board. The older persons received verbal and oral information about the study and gave written informed consent. Questionnaires (n=17 older persons) answered at baseline, end of the intervention and at a 6-month follow-up were analysed with statistical analysis. Interviews (n=17 older persons) conducted at the end of the intervention were analysed using a qualitative directed approach. The questionnaire included the Appraisal of Self-care Agency Scale and a question concerning sense of security. For 3months, the older persons used an app for regular reporting of health concerns. The app included self-care advice, graphs and a risk assessment model that generated alerts directly to the nurses. The older persons described how self-care and sense of security increased at the end of intervention, but statistically, it was shown to decrease afterwards. The small sample size for statistical analysis. This study shows that an app can be a complementary tool to conventional home care that can increase older persons' sense of security and self-care ability. The results mirror the older persons' awareness that the support they received with the app was only temporary. Larger studies are needed for generalisation.