Digital Health Orchestration: Innovating Beyond Applications to Address Elderly Loneliness in Aging Societies
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Objectives: This study addressed elderly loneliness in aging societies by developing and evaluating SabuyJai, a culturally grounded digital health platform designed to assess, manage, and reduce social isolation among older adults. Methods/Analysis: A three-phase mixed-methods design was employed. Phase 1 used structural equation modeling (SEM) to identify loneliness determinants through qualitative analysis and surveys (n=205). Phase 2 implemented an eight-week quasi-experimental intervention (n=82), and Phase 3 evaluated technology acceptance and commercial viability (n=41) using the extended Technology Acceptance Model (TAM). Findings: Social connectedness emerged as the primary determinant of loneliness and mental health (β=–0.474, p<0.001; β=0.677, p<0.001), with meaningful reciprocity outweighing network size. The intervention achieved a 17.4% loneliness reduction (p<0.001). The platform demonstrated high perceived usefulness (M=4.35), ease of use (M=4.33), and trust (M=4.21), with positive three-year financial projections. Novelty/Improvements: This research contributes an integrated Digital Social Well-being Model, extending social support, social exchange, and social connectedness theories within the TAM framework, and advances digital health innovation by demonstrating that culturally adapted, theory-driven platforms can effectively bridge emotional health, digital inclusion, and well-being economy objectives in super-aged societies.
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