Usability study of mobile healthcare application for the elderly

Various healthcare services and mobile applications tailored for the elderly have surfaced, yet studies related to UI design and usability do not significantly differ from those targeting the general public. Consequently, general healthcare services pose inconveniences and difficulties for elderly users, resulting in a multitude of operational errors. Hence, the primary objective of this study is to evaluate usability with the aim of enhancing mobile applications that are elderly-friendly. By comparing usability evaluation results before and after improvements to the healthcare application, design elements influencing the usability of elderly-friendly applications were identified. The usability evaluation was broadly categorized into an objective evaluation based on a performance matrix and a subjective evaluation employing the System Usability Scale (SUS). The findings of this study validate that providing assistance, increasing font size, introducing sound feedback, and incorporating a preparatory phase to enhance elderly users’ cognition significantly contribute to overall usability improvements for the elderly. These research outcomes are expected to be applied in the future development of diverse applications and service research specifically tailored to the elderly.