Exploring digital health: a qualitative study on adults' experiences with health apps and wearables.

IF 2.1 4区医学 Q2 NURSING

International Journal of Qualitative Studies on Health and Well-Being Pub Date : 2025-12-01 Epub Date: 2024-12-26 DOI:10.1080/17482631.2024.2447096

Gaia Leuzzi, Filippo Recenti, Benedetto Giardulli, Aldo Scafoglieri, Marco Testa

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Purpose: From an active ageing perspective, investigating how adults use apps and wearables for health purposes might improve well-being strategies supported by widely adopted technologies. This study investigated adults' perceptions of using apps and wearables for health purposes.

Methods: A qualitative interview study was conducted. Adults (+18) using an app/wearable to monitor at least one health variable (e.g. physical activity and diet) were eligible. Transcriptions were analysed using the Reflexive Thematic Analysis.

Results: Nineteen participants (34.3 ± 14.5 years; men/women: 8/11) joined the study and from their transcriptions 5 themes were created: 1) Easy and accurate monitoring of health: balancing users' needs and technological challenges; 2) Self-improvement and motivation: usefulness of rewarding behaviours and gamification towards achievements; 3) Requiring personalized apps and wearables: aesthetics and wearability; 4) Beyond simple monitoring: prevention and care throughout daily life; 5) Awareness of potentially dangerous digital data world: from distress to fixation.

Conclusions: Apps and wearables were highly valued by our participants for effectively managing and enhancing their health and sports performance while ensuring education, motivation, ease of use, safety, and prevention. However, issues such as privacy concerns, wearability, and lack of integration need to be addressed to improve adoption, enhance usability and support active ageing initiatives.

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探索数字健康：一项关于成年人使用健康应用程序和可穿戴设备体验的定性研究。

目的：从积极老龄化的角度来看，调查成年人如何使用应用程序和可穿戴设备用于健康目的，可能会改善广泛采用的技术支持的福祉策略。这项研究调查了成年人对使用应用程序和可穿戴设备用于健康目的的看法。方法：采用定性访谈法。使用应用程序/可穿戴设备监测至少一个健康变量（例如身体活动和饮食）的成年人（18岁以上）符合条件。使用反身主位分析对转录进行分析。结果：19例受试者(34.3±14.5岁；男性/女性：8/11)加入了研究，并根据他们的转录创建了5个主题：1)轻松准确地监测健康：平衡用户需求和技术挑战；2)自我提升和激励：奖励行为和成就游戏化的有用性；3)需要个性化的应用和可穿戴设备：美观和可穿戴性；4)超越简单监测：预防和护理贯穿日常生活；5)对数字数据世界潜在危险的认识：从苦恼到执着。结论：我们的参与者非常重视应用程序和可穿戴设备，因为它们有效地管理和提高了他们的健康和运动表现，同时确保了教育、动力、易用性、安全性和预防。然而，需要解决诸如隐私问题、可穿戴性和缺乏集成等问题，以提高采用率、增强可用性并支持积极的老龄化计划。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

International Journal of Qualitative Studies on Health and Well-Being Multiple-

CiteScore

3.20

自引率

5.60%

发文量

审稿时长

14 weeks

期刊介绍： International Journal of Qualitative Studies on Health and Well-being acknowledges the international and interdisciplinary nature of health-related issues. It intends to provide a meeting-point for studies using rigorous qualitative methodology of significance for issues related to human health and well-being. The aim of the International Journal of Qualitative Studies on Health and Well-being is to support and to shape the emerging field of qualitative studies and to encourage a better understanding of all aspects of human health and well-being.