Perceived Contribution of Smartphone in Chronic Disease Management

Objectives: As smartphones become more popular, so do their applications. However, expecta-tions of the elderly regarding the contribution of smartphone in controlling chronic diseases re-main unclear. This research aims to understand senior retirees ’ smartphone acceptance, per-ceived contribution of smartphone application in facilitating chronic disease control and their as-sociation. Findings from the study provide insights for the development of mobile applications in chronic disease management. Methods: convenience sampling was conducted to recruit 110 se-nior retirees who worked as volunteers in a regional hospital in Taipei. Data was collected through a structured questionnaire. Descriptive, chi-square and logistic regression statistics were applied to analyze data. Results: A total of 108 completed questionnaires were collected with a return rate of 98.2%. Mean age was 65.34 ± 9.59 years old. Of all respondents, 40.7 % reported ac-ceptance of internet-enabled smartphones and 54.6 % expected that smartphones would facilitate chronic disease management in the future. However, a statistically significant 37.3 % of those ex-pecting smartphone to play a role in disease management did not accept smartphones yet. After controlling for age and education, logistic regression analysis showed that older adults with high