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. 2022 Nov 4:8:20552076221133695.
doi: 10.1177/20552076221133695. eCollection 2022 Jan-Dec.

Smartphones and telemedicine for older people in China: Opportunities and challenges

Chi Zhang  1
Affiliations

Smartphones and telemedicine for older people in China: Opportunities and challenges

Chi Zhang. Digit Health. .

Abstract

The development of 5G technology has brought major advances and diverse challenges in healthcare services for older people, and access to equitable telemedicine is a high priority. Smartphones are most commonly used device to access the internet and bring the convenience of telemedicine to the user's fingertips. In the period where aging and informatization coexist in China, the role of smartphones in their daily lives, long-term care, and future opportunities and challenges needs serious reconsideration. We provide the latest evidence of smartphone use among the older adults of China and expound on issues about fairness in accessing mobile health, the substantial digital divide, and potential drawbacks of problematic smartphone use.

Keywords: 5G technology; COVID-19; Smartphones; older people; telemedicine.

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Conflict of interest statement

The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

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