{"id":158440,"date":"2026-05-19T15:10:29","date_gmt":"2026-05-19T15:10:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vale50plus.org\/clone\/only-1-in-5-with-medical-needs-use-digital-apps-despite-potential-benefits-uk-news\/"},"modified":"2026-05-19T15:10:29","modified_gmt":"2026-05-19T15:10:29","slug":"only-1-in-5-with-medical-needs-use-digital-apps-despite-potential-benefits-uk-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vale50plus.org\/clone\/only-1-in-5-with-medical-needs-use-digital-apps-despite-potential-benefits-uk-news\/","title":{"rendered":"Only 1 in 5 with medical needs use digital apps, despite potential benefits | UK | News"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\"Close<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/p>\n

Brits are now more reluctant to adopt new technology (Image: Getty)<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n

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Four in 10 people say they\u2019re fatigued by technology and reluctant to learn anything new.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Research found 37% feel technology \u2014 whether apps, devices or other services \u2014 is developing faster than they can keep up. As a result, adults are now more likely to feel overwhelmed than excited by the pace of change.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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In a poll of 2,000 adults, 35% said they sometimes feel so disconnected from the online world that they avoid interacting with it altogether.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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That reluctance can have real-world consequences. Some 12% said they have struggled to contact their GP because the process is online, while 6% reported losing access to their bank account at a critical moment. A further 5% said they have incurred a penalty after missing a deadline for completing something online.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The study commissioned by healthcare company Abbott found when using a new app, device, or piece of technology for the first time, 41% are likely to feel confused or worried about getting something wrong.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Out of the 43% of the population who have some kind of medical or wellbeing need that could be managed by apps or devices, like diabetes or asthma, only 19% are currently using them. A quarter of those who aren’t said this is becayse they don’t believe it will make a difference.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Meanwhile, 13% admit they lack confidence to start using apps or devices that could help manage conditions. As a result, 18% said they have felt more anxious or uncertain about their health, according to the OnePoll.com figures.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The global healthcare company has partnered with Strictly star Shirley Ballas and her mother Audrey Rich in this video<\/u><\/a>, to encourage the nation to get curious about technology designed to help us live better.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Shirley Ballas said: \u201cIn dance, you\u2019re always learning new steps, and it can feel overwhelming at times. But you don\u2019t stop, you keep going. It\u2019s the same with technology.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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“I’ve spent my whole career telling people not to be afraid of learning something new. It turns out that applies just as much to technology as it does to the dancefloor.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cStaying open and taking small steps can make all the difference, especially when it comes to your health.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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On the flip side, those who currently use apps to help manage health needs expressed a range of benefits from doing so, including feeling more in control of their condition, finding it easier to track symptoms, medication, or appointments and improved confidence in managing their condition. A fifth wish they had started using it sooner.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Jenny Boulton, who lives with Type 2 diabetes, said: \u201cWhen I first considered using a device to track my glucose levels, I was worried I wouldn\u2019t understand the technology.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cBut I was surprised by how easy it was to use and how quickly it helped me see how food and daily routines affect my glucose levels.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cHaving that real-time insight has given me much more confidence and control.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\"Shirley<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/p>\n

Shirley Ballas has teamed up with Abbott to raise awareness of how technology can be helpful (Image: Abbott)<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n

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Suki Bangar, diabetes specialist nurse and medical educator from Abbott, which manufactures Libre CGM systems that help people living with diabetes monitor their glucose levels, said: \u201cThe technology available to support the four million people living with Type 2 diabetes in the UK has advanced significantly, particularly with tools like continuous glucose monitors.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cWhen people are empowered to use them, it can help them better understand how their bodies respond to things that affect glucose levels in real time.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cI\u2019ve seen firsthand how impactful that knowledge can be in supporting more informed decisions and helping people feel more in control of their condition.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Brits are now more reluctant to adopt new technology (Image: Getty) Four in 10 people say they\u2019re fatigued by technology and reluctant to learn anything new. Research found 37% feel…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":158441,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","episode_type":"","audio_file":"","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","itunes_episode_number":"","itunes_title":"","itunes_season_number":"","itunes_episode_type":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cdn.images.express.co.uk\/img\/dynamic\/1\/1200x712\/secondary\/close-up-hand-people-using-smartphone-browsing-internet-business-text-or-online-shopping-6929837.jpg?r=1779203295057","fifu_image_alt":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[23,29],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-158440","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-health-news","category-recentpost"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/cdn.images.express.co.uk\/img\/dynamic\/1\/1200x712\/secondary\/close-up-hand-people-using-smartphone-browsing-internet-business-text-or-online-shopping-6929837.jpg?r=1779203295057","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":true,"date":"2026-11-19 15:10:30","action":"change-status","newStatus":"trash","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vale50plus.org\/clone\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/158440","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vale50plus.org\/clone\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vale50plus.org\/clone\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vale50plus.org\/clone\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vale50plus.org\/clone\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=158440"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/vale50plus.org\/clone\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/158440\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vale50plus.org\/clone\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/158441"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vale50plus.org\/clone\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=158440"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vale50plus.org\/clone\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=158440"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vale50plus.org\/clone\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=158440"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}