M-Health as a Tool in the Cognitive Flexibility of the Elderly

Abstract

This research is based on verifying the changes in cognitive function through the use of a mobile application designed to work in the mental flexibility processes of the elderly. It is worth mentioning that the presence of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) within society is a reality that manifests a special reflection in continuous evolution, and it has been increased in the field of health. Health mobile or M-health is the use of portable devices such as smartphones or tablets exclusively for medical use including diagnosis, support or treatment or even having a report on general health and well-being. All users (doctors/patients) can interact with these devices through a software application (App), which generally gather information interactively. This research aims to identify the support of Apps in the mental flexibility of the elderly. Mental flexibility is part of the executive functions that get deteriorated due to several causes, like the death of neurons. It was verified that there are new ways of learning in the elderly through the use of cognitive stimulation, taking advantage of the technology as a cognitive stimulation resource by using an App in patients of the Vida en los Años Nursing Home. The methodology used for this research is experimental, because the variable cognitive flexibility was manipulated through the use of a mobile application that modified its operation. Also, the changes were verified through a pre and posttest called Stroop Test. The result of Cronbach’s alpha is (0.854) of the questions posed in the structured survey. Using the Wilcoxon statistic, the silver hypothesis in the research was verified by checking the confidence ranges in the Gaussian bell.