Effects of Smartphone Social Applications on Elderly People’s Quality of Life

Abstract

As people age, maintaining and improving their Quality of Life becomes increasingly important. To understand the impact of smartphone technology and communications applications on Quality of Life, a quasi-experimental study was conducted with elderly people living in Shiraz-Iran. The study population included all the registered senior in public health centers in Shiraz, Fars, Iran during 2018 and 2019. Overall, 119 elderly people participated in the study. The study randomly categorized participants into intervention (59 participants with mean age 66.19±2.73) and control (60 participants with mean age 66.67±3.00) groups. They were asked to answer the validated Persian version of the Control, Autonomy, Self-realisation, Pleasure scale (CASP-19) scale questionnaire for Quality of Life assessment. A significant mean difference was observed by the paired t-test between pre-and post-test (t= -8.61, p<0.00), post-and follow-up-test (t= -2.24, p=0.02), and pre-test and follow-up test (t= -8.42, p<0.00) in the intervention group. The results of paired t-test for the control group showed no significant mean difference between pre-test and post-test (t= 1.35, p=0.18), post-test and follow-up test (t= 0.38, p=0.70) and pre-test and follow-up test (t= 1.94, p=0.06) for Quality of Life. The rationale for this study, along with the educational training associated with it, was to help families, and the aging field practitioners to understand the importance of modern communication technology teaching to promote a greater Life Quality in the community of the elderly.