Optimizing mobile app design for older adults: systematic review of age-friendly design

IF 3.4 3区医学 Q2 GERIATRICS & GERONTOLOGY

Aging Clinical and Experimental Research Pub Date : 2025-08-14 DOI:10.1007/s40520-025-03157-7

Elahe Amouzadeh, Iman Dianat, Javad Faradmal, Mohammad Babamiri

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Background

With the rapid growth of mobile technology, ensuring accessibility and usability for older adults has become a critical concern. This systematic review evaluates existing age-friendly mobile app design research, identifying key usability barriers and effective strategies for improving accessibility.

Methods

This study reviews English-language research (Published between Jun. 2014 and Mar. 2025) on mobile applications for adults aged 60 + , focusing on user-centered design, usability testing, and age-friendly adaptations. It compares different levels of accessibility features and evaluates their impact on usability, satisfaction, and engagement across various settings. Studies were retrieved from four online databases (PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and IEEE Xplore).

Results

This systematic review initially reviewed 1,556 records. From these, 132 articles met the inclusion criteria. The findings highlight several essential design elements, including simplified navigation, enlarged text and touch targets, voice interaction, and error-tolerant interfaces. Participatory design methods enhanced usability and satisfaction, demonstrating the importance of co-designing applications with older users. However, challenges like cognitive overload, lack of digital literacy, and accessibility barriers persist.

Conclusion

The review emphasizes the need for future research on Artificial Intelligence-driven personalization, long-term usability studies, and culturally inclusive mobile applications. By integrating age-friendly design principles, developers can enhance digital inclusion, promote independence, and improve the overall well-being of older adults in an increasingly digital world.

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优化老年人手机应用设计：对老年人友好设计的系统回顾

随着移动技术的快速发展，确保老年人的可访问性和可用性已成为一个关键问题。本系统综述评估了现有的年龄友好型移动应用设计研究，确定了关键的可用性障碍和提高可访问性的有效策略。本研究回顾了2014年6月至2025年3月期间针对60岁以上成年人移动应用的英语研究，重点关注以用户为中心的设计、可用性测试和年龄友好型改编。它比较了不同级别的可访问性特性，并评估了它们在不同设置下对可用性、满意度和参与度的影响。研究从四个在线数据库（PubMed、Scopus、Web of Science和IEEE Xplore）中检索。结果本系统评价初步回顾了1556例病例。其中132篇符合纳入标准。研究结果强调了几个基本的设计元素，包括简化的导航、放大的文本和触摸目标、语音交互和容错界面。参与式设计方法增强了可用性和满意度，证明了与老年用户共同设计应用程序的重要性。然而，认知超载、缺乏数字素养和无障碍障碍等挑战依然存在。本文强调了人工智能驱动的个性化、长期可用性研究和文化包容性移动应用的未来研究需求。通过整合对老年人友好的设计原则，开发人员可以在日益数字化的世界中增强数字包容，促进独立性，并改善老年人的整体福祉。

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

Aging Clinical and Experimental Research 医学-老年医学

CiteScore

7.90

自引率

5.00%

发文量

283

审稿时长

1 months

期刊介绍： Aging clinical and experimental research offers a multidisciplinary forum on the progressing field of gerontology and geriatrics. The areas covered by the journal include: biogerontology, neurosciences, epidemiology, clinical gerontology and geriatric assessment, social, economical and behavioral gerontology. “Aging clinical and experimental research” appears bimonthly and publishes review articles, original papers and case reports.