JMIR Aging

The prevalence of dementia has led to a growing interest in wearable technologies to assist dementia care. Despite their potential, these technologies face low adoption rates, often attributed to poor aesthetic design and insufficient consideration of user experience.

Depressive symptoms, sleep disturbance, and functional disability are interrelated. However, the bidirectional pathways between depression, sleep disturbance, and instrumental activities of daily living (IADLs) disability remain underexplored in China.

Given the rapid development of the digital economy and the sustained proliferation of the Internet, digital engagement in older adults has garnered mounting attention from the academic community. However, research has yet to systematically examine the impact of digital engagement on sleep in this demographic.

First-line management for hip and knee osteoarthritis includes lifestyle treatments, such as exercise and weight loss (if appropriate), whereas joint replacement surgery is recommended only for severe symptoms after these options have been exhausted. However, many people with osteoarthritis hold misconceptions about the condition, leading to lower acceptance of nonsurgical treatments, such as exercise, and the mistaken belief that surgery is their only option. Novel patient education approaches that address these misconceptions are recommended to improve uptake of lifestyle treatments, reduce unnecessary surgery, and improve outcomes for people with osteoarthritis. We developed a 4-week self-directed consumer e-learning course on osteoarthritis management. In a randomized controlled trial, using the course led to immediate and sustained improvements in osteoarthritis knowledge. However, participants’ perspectives on the course and an understanding of how it impacted osteoarthritis beliefs, treatment choices, and outcomes were unknown.

The global aging population and the high incidence of falls among this population highlight the need for effective preventive strategies. Home-based exercise programs, such as the Otago protocol, have demonstrated efficacy in reducing fall risk but often face barriers related to user adherence. Mobile health (mHealth) applications offer promising tools to support health promotion and enhance autonomy in older adults.

Caregivers of frail older adults face substantial challenges, often managing their own health while providing care. To address these issues, we developed the Caregiver Support Model (CSM), a structured approach that uses systematic assessment, personalized intervention planning, and sustained support to address informal family caregivers’ diverse and evolving needs and leverage their resources.

Measuring and promoting healthy ageing at an individual level remains challenging. Promoting healthy longevity requires real-time, personalized tools to assess risk and guide interventions in clinical practice.

Global aging presents significant socio-economic and health challenges, particularly for older adults who face an increased risk of chronic diseases and reduced physical activity levels. Although physical activity is crucial for maintaining health, most older adults do not meet the recommended guidelines. Gamification and mobile health (mHealth) technologies offer innovative solutions to motivate physical activity; however, research focusing on older adults is limited, especially regarding the effectiveness and sustainability of such interventions.

Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) may affect up to 20% of people over 65. Global incidence of MCI is increasing, and technology is being explored for early intervention. Theories of technology adoption (TA) predict that useful and easy-to-use solutions will have higher rates of adoption, however these models do not specifically consider older people with cognitive impairments, or the unique human-computer interaction (HCI) challenges posed by MCI. There are gaps in understanding the combined impacts of aging and cognitive impairment on factors affecting TA for older people with MCI, and it is not clear how MCI impacts HCI and device and interaction modality preferences for this population.

Little is known about how surrogates make end-of-life care choices for patients who lack the ability to make decisions for themselves.

Pandemics, such as Coronavirus disease (COVID-19), and climate change-related catastrophic weather events are increasing, impacting social connectedness within communities by disrupting social cohesion, increasing loneliness, and affecting mental health and social well-being. Digital technology, in addition to being used for communication, education, and business transactions, also plays a vital role in maintaining a country's health and well-being, as well as sustaining economic growth.

Digital Health Twins (DHTs) have been evolving with their diverse applications in medicine, specifically in older care settings, with the increasing demands of older adults. Despite its many benefits, the optimum implementation of DHTs has faced several challenges, particularly ethical and quality-of-care-related issues. Given the continuous rise in the need for such care and the evident potential for DHTs to meet these needs, this review seeks to identify and address the gaps in research knowledge to enhance DHT implementation.