Could talking to a health app beat typing for seniors?
NCT ID NCT05240534
First seen Jun 27, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026
Summary
This study looked at whether a voice-based smart display helps older adults (60+) with multiple chronic conditions use a health app more than a laptop with text. The app, ElderTree, provides tools, support, and tracking to help manage health. Researchers measured changes in physical function, pain, fatigue, and emotional well-being over 12 months in 502 participants.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- ElderTree (ET) health app delivered via laptop or voice-based smart display
- What this could lead to
- If voice-based delivery works better, it could make health management easier for older adults who struggle with typing or reading small text.
- What could go wrong
- This is a completed study comparing two ways to deliver an existing app, not testing a new treatment. The results may not apply to all older adults or conditions.
This is an AI summary of the original study and may miss details. Read our disclaimer.
Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Phase
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Not a phased trial
Phase numbers describe drug development. The registry uses this when they do not apply, as it does for trials of devices, procedures or behaviour changes, and for observational studies.
- Participants
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502 people
The number who actually took part.
- Started
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Apr 2022
- Finished
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Dec 2025
- Lead sponsor
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Other sponsor
The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.
Who can take part
This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.
- Ages
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60 years and older
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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Not accepted
This study is not open to healthy volunteers. The entry requirements below say who it is open to.
Show the full entry requirements Hide the full entry requirements
Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Inclusion Criteria: * Be ≥60 years old; * Have medical record diagnoses of at least 5 chronic conditions of which at least 3 must come from the following: hypertension, hyperlipidemia, obesity, prediabetes or diabetes, or depression; * Be willing to share medical record data about healthcare use (30-day hospital readmissions and ER, urgent care, primary care, and specialty care visits); * Allow researchers to share information with the patient's primary care provider Exclusion Criteria: * Require an interpreter * Report no current psychotic disorder that would prevent participation * Have no acute medical problem requiring immediate hospitalization * Not report impairments preventing use of a computer or tablet (e.g. blind, deaf)
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Conditions
The condition(s) this trial relates to.
As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
Contacts and locations
Locations
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University of Wisconsin
Madison, Wisconsin, 53705, United States
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Other studies related to the condition(s) this trial covers.