AXA PPP Healthcare, a joint initiative led by AXA PPP healthcare together with think tank 2020health and the Design Museum, surveyed 2000 adults and 546 teenagers aged 14-17 to understand the usage of health tech. The findings show that teenagers and older generations are more willing to monitor, manage, and share their healthcare related information than the middle agers. Also, that teenagers are more willing to get DNA tests and be aware of what life holds for them than other age segments. This implies that people in age range between 30-50 are taking risks with their long term health by not embracing the health tech opportunities. Some of the key highlights from the study include:
- 70% of teens showed willingness to have DNA analysis to understand their genetics and its impact on their health as opposed to only 51% of those 18 years and older.
- A third of 55 years and older people are more likely to use health tech devices such as blood pressure monitors, blood sugar level monitors, and mole checkers compared with an average of only 12% of people aged 35-44
- 43% of 18-24 year olds would store information on a mobile phone app, compared with 36% of those aged 25-34.
- 48% of those aged over 55 would be willing to have their complete medical history stored on a microchip in a bracelet or necklace compared with just 36% of those aged 25-34.
- Almost 1 in 4 people aged 55 and older would be willing to have a microchip with medical information placed under their skin as opposed to 1 in 5 younger people.
The survey shows that there is increased acceptance for health tech devices from consumers but the adoption differs by age and stage of individuals. The survey shows that the middle agers are more conservative about the usage of health tech devices. This could be because they are either in exploratory phase, don’t need the help now, or are just plain concerned about the privacy of information. The industry will have to continue to improve security and privacy in order to encourage more people to take advantage of the new technology.