Medication Management Apps: Usable by Older Adults?

摘要

For older adults, managing medications can be a burden and could lead to medication non-adherence. Todecrease risks associated with medication non-adherence, healthcare providers may recommend medicationreminder apps as an assistive tool. However, these apps are often not designed with consideration of olderadults’ needs, capabilities, and limitations. To identify whether available apps are suitable for older adults,we conducted an in-depth cognitive walkthrough and a heuristic evaluation of the most commonlydownloaded medication reminder app. Findings revealed three main issues: 1) difficulty in navigation, 2)poor visibility, and 3) a lack of transparency. We also selected the top five downloaded medicationreminder apps and categorized user reviews to assess app functionality and usability problems. The resultsof our analysis provide guidance for app design for older adult users to provide effective tools for managingmedications and supporting patient/user health.