Potential Mobile Health Applications for Improving the Mental Health of the Elderly: A Systematic Review

Clin Interv Aging. 2023 Sep 14:18:1523-1534. doi: 10.2147/CIA.S410396. eCollection 2023.

Abstract

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; mental health; older adults.

Publication types

  • Systematic Review
  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Aged
  • Aging
  • COVID-19*
  • Humans
  • Mental Health
  • Mobile Applications*
  • Pandemics

Grants and funding

This study was supported by the Ministry of Science and Technology of Taiwan under grant numbers MOST 109-2511-H-216-001-MY3 (Li Chen Cheng), 109-2314-B-182A-107-MY3 (Chemin Lin), 06-2314-B-182A-084-MY2 and 110-2314-B-182A-042 (Shwu-Hua Lee). This study was supported in part by National Taipei University of Technology and Chang Gung Memorial Hospital Joint Research Program under grant numbers NTUT-CGMH-110-07 and Chang Gung Memorial Hospital Research Program under grant numbers CORPG3L0131 and Chang Gung Memorial Hospital medical research grant CRRPG2K00212223.