The Effects of ICT-Based Interventions on Physical Mobility of Older Adults: A Systematic Literature Review and Meta-Analysis

Systematic literature review and meta-analysis were conducted to integrate and analyze intervention studies dealing with the effects of information and communications technology- (ICT-) based interventions on the physical mobility of older adults in the community. The PubMed/MEDLINE, Embase, CINAHL, and Cochrane CENTRAL databases were searched for studies published from January 2000 to December 2022. We used the Risk of Bias 2 (RoB 2) tool to evaluate the quality of the randomized controlled studies in the systematic review. The meta-analysis was performed using a random-effects model. The model was used to calculate the standardized mean difference (SMD) and 95% confidence interval (CI) for both effect measures. I(2) tests were used to measure the presence of heterogeneity. Thirty-seven randomized controlled trials were included (2,419 intervention participants), of which 23 were included in the meta-analysis. ICT interventions significantly improved Timed Up and Go (TUG) as a marker of physical mobility variable in older adults (SMD = −0.33, 95% CI: −0.57 to −0.10, p=0.005, I(2) = 74.7%). A sensitivity analysis was performed on subgroups, and interventions were found to be effective in improving TUG in the exergame group (SMD = −0.40, 95% CI: −0.72 to −0.08, p < 0.001, I(2) = 75.0%) and in the exergame with virtual reality (VR) group (SMD = −0.33, 95% CI: −1.01 to 0.35, p < 0.001, I(2) = 91.0%) but both groups showed high heterogeneity. A meta-analysis was also performed on Short Physical Performance Battery (SPPB) but statistically significant results were not found (SMD = −0.19, 95% CI: −0.61 to 0.23, p=0.375, I(2) = 87.7%). For the Berg Balance Scale (BBS), the post-intervention scores were significantly better than baseline (SMD = 1.52, 95% CI: 0.48 to 2.57, p=0.004, I(2) = 93.5%). However, the number of studies included in the meta-analysis was small and heterogeneity was high, so follow-up studies are needed. This study confirmed that exergames, telecommunication, e-health, information applications, and robots were used as effective ICT-based interventions for improving the physical mobility of older adults. It is necessary to develop and apply more diverse ICT-based interventions that will prevent impairments of mobility and encourage older adults to live more independently, with a higher quality of life, based on extensive research on ICT-based interventions.