Mental Health Apps for Seniors: Essential Characteristics

Building mental health apps for senior citizens is currently one of the most promising niches for entrepreneurs. The elderly population is actively participating in app usage and tackling a wide range of issues, including mental and emotional health with mobile and web apps.

In this article, we will talk about things to take into account when building mental health solutions for senior citizens.

Why Does it Make Sense to Invest in Apps for Seniors?

The market for elderly care solutions is predicted to grow significantly over the upcoming decade, driven by factors like the aging population, interaction of mobile software with wearables, and the growing number of mHealth apps.

Currently, the US accounts for the most significant number of apps for elderly care because of the vast proliferation of smartphones. Moreover, the country’s population aged 65+ is set to double over the next 40 years. Caregivers will be in high demand, and digital solutions for personal healthcare services will become a viable alternative to in-person care. 

As of today, some of the leading vendors in the elderly care segment include CareZone, MediSafe, and Mavencare. The apps that target the mental and emotional well-being of elderly citizens are still quite rare, which means a lot of mental healthcare needs of people over 65 are remaining unmet.

Mental Healthcare Issues: Boomers in Need of Help

Most senior citizens suffer from loneliness and a range of difficult mental and neurological conditions. Memory loss and depression, for example, often come hand in hand with anxiety disorders. The latter encompasses a wide range of conditions, from hoarding syndrome and obsessive-compulsive disorder to specific phobias and PTSD. In the US, over 8% of senior citizens have been diagnosed with an anxiety disorder at some point in their lives.

Sleep disorders are also immensely common among the elderly population. Over 50% of seniors suffer from lack of sleep and poor sleep quality - conditions that lead to increased levels of anxiety and stress. Digital solutions containing soothing sounds and calming videos are in high demand in this user category.

Memory loss and worsening cognitive skills are other issues that may be easily tackled with digital quests and games for brain training. Needless to say, such games may be also aimed at multiple players. For example, an Israeli game TAKI brings together elderly people and their grandchildren and helps strengthen not only cognitive skills but also family connections.

Examples of Popular Mental Health Apps for Seniors

Some of the most popular and most recommended apps in this category include:

Calm - an app with the largest number of recommendations and positive reviews, Calm contains both guided meditations for relaxation and exercises for training focus and concentration from cognitive therapists.

Relax Melodies - an app for tackling sleep issues, allowing users to mix melodies and sounds and create playlists they can fall asleep to, meditate, do yoga, or simply set the mood for the day.

MindMate - an app for people suffering from Alzheimer's and dementia, as well as for their families and caregivers. The app offers seniors a range of daily tasks with a focus on exercise, nutrition, mental activity, and social interactions, for keeping their minds and bodies fit.

Sanvello - this app covers many needs of senior users, and combines self-care, coaching, and peer support. It is also a platform connecting therapists with patients, in case the latter need a personalized approach.

Most of these apps, however, are meant for users of all ages and aren’t specifically tailored to meet the needs of people over 65. If you plan to target specifically this category of users below are some useful guidelines.

Building Apps for Senior Citizens: Things to Consider

Although more and more seniors are using smartphones each year, a lot of them still find technology challenging. On top of that, elderly age often goes along with vision, hearing, and spatial coordination issues. Building apps with optimal user experience for people over 65, should take into account their limitations and specifics.

Below are some of the basic guidelines that you should follow when building apps for seniors.

Increase contrast

Contrast is the difference between background and text on the screen. The higher the difference, the more readable the text appears. Avoid complex shades of patterned backgrounds that users may find hard to distinguish.

Label icons

Older users may not understand the meaning of icons and experience difficulties when navigating the app. To avoid miscommunications, mark icons with text labels so that your users won’t be confused.

Allow users to adjust text size

Normally, the font size should be from 36 to 48 points, however, it is best to make it adjustable, so that users with vision problems could tweak the size to their needs. It is also advisable to use simple fonts, such as Roboto, Verdana, or Arial.

Add space

Make sure there is enough space between texts and icons so that the users could easily tap the right icon. This is an important rule, especially, if there are more than one interactive element on the page.

Use simple navigation elements

Complex navigation elements, such as sliding menus may confuse users, especially those still new to smartphones. Go for simple dropdown menus and horizontal navigation bars.

Avoid using animation and moving text

Too many interactive elements may distract users from the original goals they intended to achieve by using your app. Make sure to include animation only if necessary.

Use sounds that users can hear

Allow users to tweak the volume of in-app notifications, alerts, and alarms.

Avoid using overly complex gestures

Studies show that elderly people use the same gestures as young ones when using mobile apps, but they tend to be a bit slower. Many of them may be also experiencing difficulty with complex gestures, so it's a good idea to limit gestures to tap or swipe.

Ensure easy navigation and sign up

Elderly people are often skeptical about sharing their personal information, so make sure their user profiles are simple and easy to fill in.

Think about emergency buttons and human assistants

Including an easily accessible emergency button, especially in apps that help with treating complex conditions such as Alzheimer’s or depression, is also a good idea. Also, make sure that human assistance is also available, when necessary and is easily accessible.

Final Thoughts

If you plan on building apps for senior citizens, taking into account their physical and psychological specifics will help you create an excellent UX  and ensure high user retention rates. Surely, other aspects such as security, regulatory compliance, and relevant clinical base are equally important in building solutions for mental healthcare. An experienced tech partner will guide you through all the intricacies of the process and help you build a great app that users will love.

Have an app idea that you want to bring to life? Contact us now for a free consultation!