Technology Innovations
Older Adult Engagement With Symptom Reporting in a COVID-19 Citizen Science Application
Journal of Gerontological Nursing, 2023;49(4):6–11
Cite this articlePublished Online:April 01, 2023https://doi.org/10.3928/00989134-20230309-02Cited by:1
Abstract
The current study examined the frequency and predictors of older adults' engagement with symptom reporting in COVIDWATCHER, a mobile health (mHealth) citizen science application. Citizen science is a type of participatory research that leverages information provided by community members. There were 1,028 COVIDWATCHER participants who engaged with symptom reporting between April 2020 and January 2021. Approximately 13.5% (n = 139) were adults aged ≥65 years. We used a Wilcoxon test to compare the mean frequency of engagement with symptom reporting by older adults (i.e., aged ≥65 years) to younger adults (i.e., aged ≤64 years) and multivariable linear regression to explore the predictors of engagement with symptom reporting. There was a significant difference in engagement with symptom reporting between adults aged ≥65 years compared to those aged ≤64 years (p < 0.001). In our final model, age (β = 26.0; 95% confidence interval [14.8, 34.2]) was a significant predictor for engagement with symptom reporting. These results help further our understanding of older adult engagement with mHealth-enabled citizen science for symptom reporting. [Journal of Gerontological Nursing, 49(4), 6–11.]
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