Older Adults’ Acceptance of Activity Trackers
Open accessAbstract
Objective: To assess the usability and acceptance of activity tracking technologies by older adults. Method: First in our multimethod approach, we conducted heuristic evaluations of two activity trackers that revealed potential usability barriers to acceptance. Next, questionnaires and interviews were administered to 16 older adults ( M age = 70, SD age = 3.09, range age = 65-75) before and after a 28-day field study to understand facilitators and additional barriers to acceptance. These measurements were supplemented with diary and usage data and assessed whether and why users overcame usability issues. Results: The heuristic evaluation revealed usability barriers in System Status Visibility, Error Prevention, and Consistency and Standards. The field study revealed additional barriers (e.g., accuracy, format) and acceptance-facilitators (e.g., goal tracking, usefulness, encouragement). Discussion: The acceptance of wellness management technologies, such as activity trackers, may be increased by addressing acceptance-barriers during deployment (e.g., providing tutorials on features that were challenging, communicating usefulness).
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Consumer-based wearable activity trackers may provide an alternative means of providing ongoing support and motivation to individuals looking to increase or maintain activity levels following a structured lifestyle intervention.
“This type of emerging technology may provide an alternative means of providing ongoing support and motivation to individuals both looking to increase their activity levels or to maintain activity levels following a structured lifestyle intervention [20].”
From Consumer-based wearable activity trackers increase physical activity participation: systematic review and meta-analysis (2019) · cites this paper as [20]
The Phase 2 Field Study Results report that older adults found activity trackers encouraging; one Fitbit user said the tracker prompted them to walk more. The paper does not address maintaining activity after a structured lifestyle intervention, so it supports the motivation aspect but not that specific use. (LLM, conf=0.85)
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References 32 · Cited by 128
Research works printed but not linked: 19
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- Authors
- Preusse, K. C., Mitzner, T. L., Fausset, C. B., & Rogers, W. A.
- Affiliations
- Georgia Institute of Technology (US)
- Georgia Tech Research Institute (US)
- Corresponding author
- Preusse, Kimberly C.
- Venue
- Journal of Applied Gerontology
- Publisher
- SAGE Publications
- Published
- 2016-07-07
- Volume
- 36
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 127-155
- ISSN
- 0733-4648 (ISSN-L)
- 1552-4523
- PMC
- PMC5149448
- OpenAlex
- W2238123643
- Cited by
- 128
- References
- 32
- Citations by year
- 2026: 5 · 2025: 6 · 2024: 14 · 2023: 4 · 2022: 24 · 2021: 21 · 2020: 20 · 2019: 10 · 2018: 14 · 2017: 7 · 2016: 3
- FWCI
- 31.85
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Locations
- Journal of Applied Gerontology (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (acceptedVersion)
- PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
- Funders
- Georgia Institute of Technology
- National Institute on Aging (P01AG017211)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Demography › Technology Use by Older Adults
- Physical Sciences › Computer Science › Human-Computer Interaction › Innovative Human-Technology Interaction
- Health Sciences › Health Professions › General Health Professions › Mobile Health and mHealth Applications
- Keywords
- wearable activity trackers, older adults, technology acceptance, usability, heuristic evaluation, wellness management, physical activity monitoring, goal tracking, usability barriers, older adults with disabilities
- MeSH terms
- Fitness Trackers, Aged, Aging, Female, Georgia, Health Promotion, Humans, Interviews as Topic, Male, Patient Acceptance of Health Care, Surveys and Questionnaires
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