Advancements in information and communication technology (ICT) have been identified as crucial in the development of integrated healthcare for senior citizens, particularly in the context of an aging society and normalizing pandemics. A systematic review has been conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of ICT-based integrated care for older adults, with a particular focus on creating intelligent integrated care models suitable for China’s aging population.
The review and meta-analysis utilized various databases and search engines, including PubMed, Web of Science Core Collection, Scopus, MEDLINE, EBSCO, EMBASE, CINAHL with full text, ProQuest, and the Cochrane Library, along with Google Scholar. The scope of the review was papers published from January 1, 2000, through to July 25, 2022, focusing on randomized controlled trials and quasi-experimental studies of ICT-based integrated care for older adults.
Effectiveness and Challenges of Information and Communication Technology-Based Integrated Care for Older Adults
The study incorporated 32 separate studies, with a total of 30,200 participants. The results indicated that information and communication technology-based integrated care significantly improved the overall perceived health status of older adults and reduced the number of emergency department visits. However, it showed no substantial impact on enhancing the quality of life, mobility, depression, hospital admissions and readmissions, or mortality in older adults, with a high degree of study heterogeneity being observed.
Narrative analysis further showed that the overall quality of care, primary care service use, and functional status of older adults in the intervention group improved. However, the cost-effectiveness of the approach remains unclear. The quality of the literature included in the study could benefit from improvement, particularly in terms of homogeneity.
In conclusion, while ICT-based integrated care proves effective in improving health outcomes for older adults, further refinement and research are needed. Researchers are encouraged to develop intelligent integrated care programs that consider local health and care welfare provision systems for older adults, as well as the preferences and priorities of the older population.
Original Article DOI: 10.3389/fpubh.2023.1276574
Original title: Effectiveness of information and communication technology-based integrated care for older adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis

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