Introduction: The ubiquitous nature of mobile technology coupled with the acceptance of mobile health (mHealth) among the elderly offers an opportunity to augment the existing medical workforce in long-term care. The objective of this review and narrative analysis is to identify and analyse facilitators and barriers to adoption of mHealth for the elderly. Methods: Studies over the last year were identified in multiple database indices, and three reviewers examined abstracts (k ¼ 0.82) and analysed articles for themes which were tallied in affinity diagrams to identify frequency of occurrence in the literature (n ¼ 36). Results: The three facilitators mentioned most often were independence (18%), understanding (13%), and visibility (13%). The three barriers mentioned most often were complexity (21%), limited by users (12%) and ineffective (12%). Discussion and conclusions: The reviewers concluded that the work done so far illustrates that mHealth enables a perception of independence. Future research should focus on the barriers of complexity of technology and improving existing medical literacy in order to facilitate further adoption.

No abstract