15 Smartphone Apps for Older Adults to Use While in Isolation During the COVID-19 Pandemic

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Abstract

The maintenance of well-being, healthcare, and social connection is crucial for older adults (OA) and has become a topic of debate as much of the world faces lockdown during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. OAs have been advised to isolate themselves because they are at higher risk for developing serious complications from severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus. Additionally, nursing homes and assisted-living facilities across the country have closed their doors to visitors to protect their residents. Mobile technology such as applications (apps) could provide a valuable tool to help families stay connected, and to help OAs maintain mobility and link them to resources that encourage physical and mental well-being. Apps could address cognitive, visual, and hearing impairments. Our objective was to narratively summarize 15 apps that address physical and cognitive limitations and have the potential to improve OAs’ quality of life, especially during social distancing or self-quarantine.

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Efficacy of the Mindfulness Meditation Mobile App “Calm” to Reduce Stress Among College Students: Randomized Controlled Trial

Jennifer Huberty, Jeni Green, Christine Glissmann … (2019)

Background College students experience high levels of stress. Mindfulness meditation delivered via a mobile app may be an appealing, efficacious way to reduce stress in college students. Objective We aimed to test the initial efficacy and sustained effects of an 8-week mindfulness meditation mobile app—Calm—compared to a wait-list control on stress, mindfulness, and self-compassion in college students with elevated stress. We also explored the intervention’s effect on health behaviors (ie, sleep disturbance, alcohol consumption [binge drinking], physical activity, and healthy eating [fruit and vegetable consumption]) and the feasibility and acceptability of the app. Methods This study was a randomized, wait-list, control trial with assessments at baseline, postintervention (8 weeks), and at follow-up (12 weeks). Participants were eligible if they were current full-time undergraduate students and (1) at least 18 years of age, (2) scored ≥14 points on the Perceived Stress Scale, (3) owned a smartphone, (4) were willing to download the Calm app, (5) were willing to be randomized, and (7) were able to read and understand English. Participants were asked to meditate using Calm at least 10 minutes per day. A P value ≤.05 was considered statistically significant. Results A total of 88 participants were included in the analysis. The mean age (SD) was 20.41 (2.31) years for the intervention group and 21.85 (6.3) years for the control group. There were significant differences in all outcomes (stress, mindfulness, and self-compassion) between the intervention and control groups after adjustment for covariates postintervention (all P .19). Similar results were found for mindfulness and self-compassion. Effect sizes ranged from moderate (0.59) to large (1.24) across all outcomes. A significant group×time interaction in models of sleep disturbance was found, but no significant effects were found for other health behaviors. The majority of students in the intervention group reported that Calm was helpful to reduce stress and stated they would use Calm in the future. The majority were satisfied using Calm and likely to recommend it to other college students. The intervention group participated in meditation for an average of 38 minutes/week during the intervention and 20 minutes/week during follow-up. Conclusions Calm is an effective modality to deliver mindfulness meditation in order to reduce stress and improve mindfulness and self-compassion in stressed college students. Our findings provide important information that can be applied to the design of future studies or mental health resources in university programs. Trial Registration ClinicalTrials.gov NCT03891810; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03891810

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Association of a Smartphone Application With Medication Adherence and Blood Pressure Control

Zhigang Lu, Niteesh K. Choudhry, Jessie L Juusola … (2018)

Medication nonadherence accounts for up to half of uncontrolled hypertension. Smartphone applications (apps) that aim to improve adherence are widely available but have not been rigorously evaluated.

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Sedentary behavior and health outcomes among older adults: a systematic review

Leandro Fornias Machado de Rezende, Juan Rey-López, Victor Matsudo … (2014)

Background In the last decade, sedentary behavior has emerged as a new risk factor for health. The elderly spend most of their awake time in sedentary activities. Despite this high exposure, the impact of this sedentary behavior on the health of this population has not yet been reviewed. We systematically reviewed evidence for associations between sedentary behavior and multiple health outcomes in adults over 60 years of age. Methods We searched the Medline, Embase, Web of Science, SPORTDiscus, PsycINFO, CINAHL, LILLACS, and Sedentary Research Database for observational studies published up to May 2013. Additionally, we contacted members of the Sedentary Behaviour Research Network to identify articles that were potentially eligible. After inclusion, the methodological quality of the evidence was assessed in each study. Results We included 24 eligible articles in our systematic review, of which only 2 (8%) provided high-quality evidence. Greater sedentary time was related to an increased risk of all-cause mortality in the older adults. Some studies with a moderate quality of evidence indicated a relationship between sedentary behavior and metabolic syndrome, waist circumference, and overweightness/obesity. The findings for other outcomes such as mental health, renal cancer cells, and falls remain insufficient to draw conclusions. Conclusion This systematic review supports the relationship between sedentary behavior and mortality in older adults. Additional studies with high methodological quality are still needed to develop informed guidelines for addressing sedentary behavior in older adults.

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Author and article information

Journal

Journal ID (nlm-ta): West J Emerg Med

Journal ID (iso-abbrev): West J Emerg Med

Journal ID (publisher-id): WestJEM

Title: Western Journal of Emergency Medicine

Publisher: Department of Emergency Medicine, University of California, Irvine School of Medicine

ISSN (Print): 1936-900X

ISSN (Electronic): 1936-9018

Publication date (Print): May 2020

Publication date (Electronic): 14 April 2020

Volume: 21

Issue: 3

Pages: 514-525

Affiliations

[* ]The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island

[† ]Johnson & Wales University, Providence, Rhode Island

[‡ ]The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, Department of Emergency Medicine, Providence, Rhode Island

[§ ]Brown University School of Public Health, Department of Health Services, Practice and Policy, Providence, Rhode Island

Author notes

Address for Correspondence: Elizabeth Goldberg, MD, ScM, 55 Claverick Street, Second floor, Room 203, Providence, RI 02903. Email: elizabeth_goldberg@ 123456brown.edu .

Article

Publisher ID: wjem-21-514

DOI: 10.5811/westjem.2020.4.47372

PMC ID: 7234684

PubMed ID: 32302279

SO-VID: 110b98d8-286c-45cb-9482-c0e4e970f0d3

License:

This is an open access article distributed in accordance with the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY 4.0) License. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

History

Date received : 23 March 2020

Date revision received : 05 April 2020

Date accepted : 06 April 2020

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15 Smartphone Apps for Older Adults to Use While in Isolation During the COVID-19 Pandemic

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Most cited references 42

Efficacy of the Mindfulness Meditation Mobile App “Calm” to Reduce Stress Among College Students: Randomized Controlled Trial

Association of a Smartphone Application With Medication Adherence and Blood Pressure Control

Sedentary behavior and health outcomes among older adults: a systematic review

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