Elderly people's perceptions on the use of mobile phones to support the self-management of long-term illnesses at Kiruddu National Referral Hospital.

Abstract

Introduction: The global estimate of the aging population is progressively increasing in low and middle-income countries and this is accompanied by the limitations associated with the need for equitable and efficient healthcare delivery among this dire population. Unfortunately, despite the increasing numbers, the adoption of mobile phones is not balanced in the different populations with research showing young persons' adoption rate is higher than that of elderly persons.

Objective: This current study was conducted to identify elderly people's perceptions of the use of mobile phones to support the self-management of long-term illnesses at Kiruddu National Referral Hospital.

Methods: This descriptive-cross-sectional design study was conducted on a sample population of 30 elderly individuals older than 60 years admitted at the outpatient department of Kiruddu National Referral Hospital, Kampala, Uganda. We conducted face-to-face interviews following an interview guide and one focus group discussion. We later used a feature mobile phone and a tablet mobile phone to assess the individual ease of use of each device. The audio recordings were professionally transcribed and transcripts were coded into NVIVO version 12 analysis software for thematic analysis.

Results: Almost all of the respondents who visited the facility had an ailment that hindered their full utilization of the mobile phone to support their self-care. This together with other factors like financial constraints, lack of support from the health workers on how to use mobile phones to support health, inadequate support from the facility, and cost of mobile data among others.

Background and conclusion: This study provides empirical evidence that there is hardly a known mobile phone adoption model to enable policymakers, systems developers, and health workers to promote the elderly population's use of mobile phones to manage their long-term illnesses in Uganda.