Introduction
Over the past decades, the welfare of the aging population has become a growing concern of healthcare providers all over the world. This development is due to ” a tendency of constant growth in the elderly population” (Scartoni, Sant’Ana, Murillo-Rodriguez, et al., 2020, p. 1). Therefore, the need to pinpoint health promotion approaches that are tailored for the elderly arises. In the following assignment, articles on telemedicine, board games, mobile applications, and social media as health promotion strategies will be discussed.
Literature Review
The first article to be reviewed is IoT-based Telemedicine for Disease Prevention and Health Promotion: State-of-the-Art. This study covers a set of 141 articles published between 2014 and 2020 on the topic of Internet of Things (IoT)-based telemedicine and its importance regarding health promotion. The articles are categorized and analyzed comprehensively in order to understand the impact of telemedicine as a health promotion strategy. The authors note that several articles from the set highlight “ambient assisted living (AAL) systems, which are utilized to monitor chronic diseases of the elderly at home” (Albahri, Alwan, Taha, et al., 2021, p. 9). Among the AAL systems studied are examples, a smart pillow, a UHF passive wearable RFID wristband, and others (Albahri et al., 2021). The authors conclude that there is a need for effective telemedicine initiatives that can meet the needs of the aging population at a reasonable price (Albahri et al., 2021). It is noted that there is a growing market for these technologies, specifically among the aging population due to frequent transportation issues. Therefore, telemedicine is a suitable health promotion strategy for the elderly.
The second article regarding effective health promotion strategies is the Special Series on “Effects of Board Games on Health Education and Promotion” Board Games as a Promising Tool for Health Promotion: A Review of Recent Literature. Similarly to the previous article, this study explores the recent publications on health promotion, specifically regarding the usage of board games. Two main benefits of board games for the elderly population have been discovered. Firstly, several articles list that engagement in board games can protect elderly people from dementia (Nakao, 2019). It is stated that board games have both a logical and a communicative side to them, and such activity is beneficial for preventing cognitive decline (Nakao, 2019). Secondly, board games help with promoting positive behavioral changes, including good eating and quitting smoking (Nakao, 2019). It can be concluded that board games are useful for the elderly population as a strategy for health promotion because they combine informative and preventive aspects.
The third article to be reviewed is Use of Mobile Health Applications for Health-Promoting Behavior among Individuals with Chronic Medical Conditions. The authors surveyed a selection of chronically diseased adults owning a smartphone and found that mobile health applications made them more likely to partake in health-promoting behaviors. Therefore, this study proves mobile application usage to be a viable health promotion strategy. However, the authors note that elderly people and older adults are the populations that are least engaged with applications. Furthermore, two barriers that prevent the aging population from using mobile health applications are named: access and adoption (Mahmood, Kedia, Wyant, et al., 2019). The percentage of older adults owning a smartphone is lower than that of other age groups. Moreover, the elderly that do own smartphones may be experiencing difficulties with making the usage of the application a part of their routine (Mahmood et al., 2019). These are the main reasons why mobile applications are a less efficient health promotion strategy for the elderly.
The fourth and final article to be covered, Evolving Role of Social Media in Health Promotion: Updated Responsibilities for Health Education Specialists, discusses social media as a health promotion strategy. The authors remark on the ubiquitousness of social media in the healthcare sector “due, in part, to its ability to remove physical barriers that traditionally impede access to healthcare support and resources” (Stellefson, Paige, Chaney, et al., 2020, p. 1). However, the authors list the elderly among the categories of people for whom social media is less likely to be efficient.
Discussion
Having overviewed the four articles, it is worth discussing their contents. Three out of four reviewed articles discuss relatively new technologies: telemedicine, social media, and mobile applications. However, out of these proposals, only telemedicine seems to have real prospects; the other two technologies come with caveats that are yet to be overcome. Therefore, in order to avoid excluding the vulnerable aging population, it seems important to highlight the importance of pursuing different directions when discussing health promotion strategies.
As the article on telemedicine states, its appeal lies in the fact that it does not require one’s presence, which is beneficial for people with impaired mobility. This can be applied to social media and mobile applications as well. However, the elderly population seems to struggle with the adoption of these new technologies, as shown before. Consequently, the implementation of initiatives to integrate new technologies seems integral to preserving the aging population’s health and well-being.
Conclusion
Over the course of this review, a total of four articles on telemedicine strategies have been analyzed. It has been concluded that among the most effective strategies are telemedicine and board games, while social media and mobile applications have been found less useful for the elderly population. By discussing the articles, it has become apparent that many approaches regarding health promotion require the usage of new technologies. Therefore, it is of utmost importance to facilitate the adoption of new health adoption strategies among elderly people.
References
Albahri, A. S., Alwan, J. K., Taha, Z. K., Ismail, S. F., Hamid, R. A., Zaidan, A. A., Albahri, O. S., Zaidan, B. B., Alamoodi, A. H., & Alsalem, M. A. (2021). IoT-based telemedicine for disease prevention and health promotion: State-of-the-Art, Journal of Network and Computer Applications, 173.
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Mahmood, A., Kedia, S., Wyant, D. K., Ahn, S., Bhuyan, S. S. (2019). Use of mobile health applications for health-promoting behavior among individuals with chronic medical conditions. Digital Health, 5.
Nakao, M. (2019). Special series on “effects of board games on health education and promotion” board games as a promising tool for health promotion: a review of recent literature. Biopsychosoc Med, 13(5).
Scartoni, F. R., Sant’Ana, L. O., Murillo-Rodriguez, E., Yamamoto, T., Imperatori, C., Budde, H., Vianna, J. M., & Machado, S. (2020). Physical exercise and immune system in the elderly: Implications and importance in COVID-19 pandemic period. Front Psychol, 19(11).
Stellefson, M., Paige, S. R., Chaney, B. H., & Chaney, J. D. (2020). Evolving role of social media in health promotion: Updated responsibilities for health education specialists. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health, 17(4).