Study Finds Ridesharing Services Improve Older Adults' Lives

An AARP Foundation-funded study by the University of Southern California (USC) in the Journal of mHealth found ridesharing services are beneficial to older adults, reports Next Avenue . The study offered 90 days of free Lyft rides to 150 people older than 60 from USC's Keck Medicine in Los Angeles, where a quarter of participants live more than 90 minutes away. The project sought to ensure participants made it to medical appointment follow-up visits, as well as to evaluate the effect of unlimited social transportation access, out of concerns about social isolation and loneliness among seniors. "Our study was the first to show offering no-cost access to not just medical appointments, but social activities, can actually improve self-reported health and well-being," said USC's Leslie Saxon. The researchers found 33 percent of the rides were used for medical appointments, but most were for fitness activity, social visits with friends and relatives, and other leisure excursions that elevated participants' perceived quality of life by 92 percent. Participants received up-front training and education for using the Lyft smartphone app, which 86 percent of subjects employed.