Clinical Interventions in Aging (Sep 2023)
Potential Mobile Health Applications for Improving the Mental Health of the Elderly: A Systematic Review
Abstract
Ya-Hsin Chou,1,* Chemin Lin,2– 4,* Shwu-Hua Lee,2,5,* Ya-Wen Chang Chien,6,* Li-Chen Cheng7,* 1Department of Psychiatry, Taoyuan Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Taoyuan County, Taiwan; 2College of Medicine, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan County, Taiwan; 3Department of Psychiatry, Keelung Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Keelung City, Taiwan; 4Community Medicine Research Center, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Keelung, Taiwan; 5Department of Psychiatry, Linkou Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Taoyuan County, Taiwan; 6Department of Photography and Virtual Reality Design, Huafan University, New Taipei, Taiwan; 7Department of Information and Finance Management, National Taipei University of Technology, Taipei, Taiwan*These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Li-Chen Cheng, National Taipei University of Technology, Department of Information and Finance Management, Taipei, 106, Taiwan, Email [email protected] Ya-Wen Chang Chien, Huafan University, Department of Photography and Virtual Reality Design, New Taipei, 223, Taiwan, Email [email protected]: The rapid aging of the global population presents challenges in providing mental health care resources for older adults aged 65 and above. The COVID-19 pandemic has further exacerbated the global population’s psychological distress due to social isolation and distancing. Thus, there is an urgent need to update scholarly knowledge on the effectiveness of mHealth applications to improve older people’s mental health. This systematic review summarizes recent literature on chatbots aimed at enhancing mental health and well-being. Sixteen papers describing six apps or prototypes were reviewed, indicating the practicality, feasibility, and acceptance of chatbots for promoting mental health in older adults. Engaging with chatbots led to improvements in well-being and stress reduction, as well as a decrement in depressive symptoms. Mobile health applications addressing these studies are categorized for reference.Keywords: chatbot, mHealth application, older adults, mental health
