Association Between mHealth Apps Usage and Well-Being Among Community-Based Older Patients With Multiple Chronic Conditions: A Serial of Multiple Mediation Models

Abstract

Objectives: This study aimed to disentangle the pathways linking mHealth apps usage and well-being through the serial mediation effects of illness perception and anxiety in Chinese older patients with Multiple Chronic Conditions (MCCs). Methods: Illness perception and anxiety were measured using the Brief Illness Perception Questionnaire (BIPQ) and anxiety subscale (HADS-A), respectively. Well-being was assessed using the Well-Being Index (IWB). Serial mediation analysis was conducted using the PROCESS macro in SPSS (version 3.3). Results: Of the 575 patients, 80.0% experienced low or moderate levels of well-being. There was a significant direct effect of mHealth apps usage on well-being, with an effect size of 0.211 (95% CI [0.044,0.379]). Three indirect pathways between mHealth apps usage and well-being were identified: illness perception (effect size = 0.029, 95% CI [0.001,0.063]); and anxiety (effect size = 0.125, 95% CI [0.071,0.185]) was two significant mediators on the association between mHealth apps usage and well-being; moreover, there was a serial mediation of illness perception and anxiety (effect value = 0.013, 95% CI [0.004,0.027]) on the association between mHealth apps usage and well-being. Conclusions: The findings suggest that mHealth apps usage may promote well-being among older patients with MCCs by positively altering illness perception and reducing anxiety. These findings underscore the potential of mHealth apps as an intervention strategy to enhance psychological well-being in the older population with MCCs within the community.