In a survey of 4144 Germans over 35 in order to see the extent of smartphone and health app use; sociodemographic, medical, and behavioral correlations to smartphone and health app use; as well as associations of the use of apps.
61.25% (2538/4144) used a smartphone and those who did, tended to be younger, did more internet research, were more likely to work full time and have a university degree, engaged in more physical activity, fewer had a low fat diet, and had a higher health-related quality of life and health knowledge. Among the smartphone users, 20.53% (521/2538) used health apps.
The health apps focused on quitting smoking 44.5% (232/521), healthy dieting 38.6% (201/521), and weight loss 23.2% (121/521). The apps focused on planing 50.7% (264/521), reminders 36.1% (188/521), motivation 34.4% (179/521), and health information 33.6% (175/521).
The study finds that a significant portion of the population isn't engaged and the disparities in the use of this technology is age-related, socioeconomic-related, literacy-related, and health-related. In order to make telemedicine apps more engaging, app developers should take into account the needs of the elderly, those with chronic conditions, and those with low health-literacy.
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Kathryn, thank you for sharing this very informative survey outcomes. I have always persist an optimistic perspective for the future trends of telemedicine. Though smartphones and tablets were not invented for replacing our personal computer, they do add more flexibility and accessibility toward to healthcare. As our presentation will end up with conclusion for the future trends of telemedicine, this survey outcome will definitely adds more credits on our presentation.
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