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.