Promoting Health via Mobile Health Applications: Adaptation and Validation of a French Version of the Mobile App Rating Scale (Preprint)

Mobile health applications are an easy, friendly access method for enhancing patient’s compliance and overall health status. This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of using mobile health applications on patients’ compliance. A Quasi-experimental design was used with a purposeful sample of 150 subjects who have been diagnosed with type II diabetes were recruited. SOKARY android mobile application diabetes App was selected mobile health application in Arabic interface included many features as recording blood glucose level, nutrition and physical activity with medication reminders and healthy lifestyle advice notifications. The findings showed that the effectiveness of post-using the Mobile App on patient’s compliance is statistically significant 52.64+5.1, (p=0.000). Obviously, the improvement is statistically significant as recognized in lowering the level of HbA1c (p> 0.029) and BMI (p>0.006) and increasing level of activity (p>0.002) and overall patient’s compliance (p>0.004). In conclusion, the results reported significant improvement in patients’ compliance and highly recommended to utilize such mobile health applications among patients to prevent the complications of Type II diabetes. Keywords:SOKARY Mobile Application, type II diabetes, patient’s compliance, HbA1c, level of activity, BMI.

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Mobile app validation: a digital health scorecard approach

npj Digital Medicine ◽

10.1038/s41746-021-00476-7 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 4 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Ramy Sedhom ◽

Michael J. McShea ◽

Adam B. Cohen ◽

Jonathan A. Webster ◽

Simon C. Mathews

Keyword(s):

Mobile Health ◽

Group Performance ◽

Digital Health ◽

Evaluation Criteria ◽

Mobile App ◽

End User ◽

Clinical Value ◽

Mobile Health Applications ◽

Health Applications

AbstractWhile digital health solutions continue to grow in number and in complexity, the ability for stakeholders in healthcare to easily discern quality lags far behind. This challenge is in part due to the lack of a transparent and standardized approach to validation. Evaluation of mobile health applications (apps) is further burdened by low barriers to development and direct-to-user marketing, leading to a crowded and confusing landscape. In this context, we investigated the pragmatic application of a previously described framework for digital health validation, the Digital Health Scorecard, in a cohort of 22 popular mobile health oncology apps. The apps evaluated using this framework performed poorly, scoring 49.4% across all evaluation criteria as a group. Performance across component domains varied considerably with cost scoring highest at 100%, usability at 56.7%, technical at 37.3%, and clinical at 15.9%. satisfaction of prospectively determined end-user requirements derived from patient, family, and clinician consensus scored 37.2%. While cost outperformed consistently and usability was adequate, the results also suggested that apps suffered from significant technical limitations, were of limited clinical value, and generally did not do what end users wanted. These large gaps further support the need for transparent and standardized evaluation to help all stakeholders in healthcare improve the quality of mobile health.

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Effectiveness of using SOKARY Mobile Application on compliance of the patient with Type II diabetes: A quasi-experimental study. (Preprint)

10.2196/preprints.30997 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Magda Bayoumi Sr

Keyword(s):

Mobile Health ◽

Type Ii Diabetes ◽

Mobile Application ◽

Healthy Lifestyle ◽

Mobile App ◽

Type Ii ◽

Mobile Health Application ◽

Quasi Experimental ◽

Mobile Health Applications ◽

Health Applications

BACKGROUND Mobile health applications are an easy, friendly access method for enhancing patient’s compliance and overall health status. OBJECTIVE This study aimed to evaluate the effect of using mobile health applications on patients’ compliance. METHODS A Quasi-experimental design was used with a purposeful sample of 150 subjects who have been diagnosed with type II diabetes were recruited. SOKARY android mobile application diabetes App was selected mobile health application in Arabic interface included many features recording blood glucose level, nutrition and physical activity with medication reminders and healthy lifestyle advice notifications. RESULTS The findings showed that the effectiveness of post using of Mobile App on patient’s compliance is statistically significant 52.64+5.1, (p=0.000). Obviously, the improvement is statistically significant as recognized in lowering the level of HbA1c (p> 0.029) and BMI (p>0.006) and increasing level of activity (p>0.002) and overall patient’s compliance (p>0.004). CONCLUSIONS In conclusion, the results reported significant improvement that recommends the use of mobile health applications among patients with chronic diseases. CLINICALTRIAL ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT04843592

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A Systematic Evaluation of Mobile Health Applications for the Prevention of Suicidal Behavior or Non-suicidal Self-injury

Frontiers in Digital Health ◽

10.3389/fdgth.2021.689692 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 3 ◽

Author(s):

Lasse B. Sander ◽

Marie-Luise Lemor ◽

Racine J. A. Van der Sloot ◽

Eva De Jaegere ◽

Rebekka Büscher ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Suicidal Ideation ◽

Mobile Health ◽

Suicidal Behavior ◽

Rating Scale ◽

Systematic Evaluation ◽

Prevention Strategies ◽

High Quality ◽

Self Injury ◽

Mobile Health Applications ◽

Health Applications

People with suicidal ideation and non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) behavior face numerous barriers to help-seeking, which worsened during the COVID-19 pandemic. Mobile health applications (MHA) are discussed as one solution to improve healthcare. However, the commercial app markets are growing unregulated and rapidly, leading to an inscrutable market. This study evaluates the quality, features, functions, and prevention strategies of MHA for people with suicidal ideation and NSSI. An automatic search engine identified MHA for suicidal behavior and NSSI in the European commercial app stores. MHA quality and general characteristics were assessed using the Mobile Application Rating Scale (MARS). MHA of high quality (top 25%) were examined in detail and checked for consistency with established suicide prevention strategies. Of 10,274 identified apps, 179 MHA met the predefined inclusion criteria. Average MHA quality was moderate (M = 3.56, SD = 0.40). Most MHA provided emergency contact, but lacked security features. High-quality MHA were broadly consistent with the best-practice guidelines. The search revealed apps containing potentially harmful and triggering content, and no randomized controlled trial of any included MHA was found. Despite a large heterogeneity in the quality of MHA, high-quality MHA for suicidal behavior and NSSI are available in European commercial app stores. However, a lack of a scientific evidence base poses potential threats to users.

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“Help in a Heartbeat?”: A Systematic Evaluation of Mobile Health Applications (Apps) for Coronary Heart Disease

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health ◽

10.3390/ijerph181910323 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 18 (19) ◽

pp. 10323

Author(s):

Chiara Mack ◽

Yannik Terhorst ◽

Mirjam Stephan ◽

Harald Baumeister ◽

Michael Stach ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Coronary Heart Disease ◽

Heart Disease ◽

Mobile Health ◽

Rating Scale ◽

Lifestyle Changes ◽

Systematic Evaluation ◽

Management Support ◽

Mobile Health Applications ◽

Health Applications

For patients with coronary heart disease (CHD) lifestyle changes and disease management are key aspects of treatment that could be facilitated by mobile health applications (MHA). However, the quality and functions of MHA for CHD are largely unknown, since reviews are missing. Therefore, this study assessed the general characteristics, quality, and functions of MHA for CHD. Hereby, the Google Play and Apple App stores were systematically searched using a web crawler. The general characteristics and quality of MHA were rated with the Mobile Application Rating Scale (MARS) by two independent raters. From 3078 identified MHA, 38 met the pre-defined criteria and were included in the assessment. Most MHA were affiliated with commercial companies (52.63%) and lacked an evidence-base. An overall average quality of MHA (M = 3.38, SD = 0.36) was found with deficiencies in information quality and engagement. The most common functions were provision of information and CHD risk score calculators. Further functions included reminders (e.g., for medication or exercises), feedback, and health management support. Most MHA (81.58%) had one or two functions and MHA with more features had mostly higher MARS ratings. In summary, this review demonstrated that a number of potentially helpful MHA for patients with CHD are commercially available. However, there is a lack of scientific evidence documenting their usability and clinical potential. Since it is difficult for patients and healthcare providers to find suitable and high-quality MHA, databases with professionally reviewed MHA are required.

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Malaria Geo-Localization with Mobile-Health Applications

SSRN Electronic Journal ◽

10.2139/ssrn.2708159 ◽

2015 ◽

Author(s):

Roberto Moro Visconti ◽

Alberto Larocca ◽

Michele Marconi

Keyword(s):

Mobile Health ◽

Mobile Health Applications ◽

Health Applications

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EFFECTIVNESS OF SPECIFIC MOBILE HEALTH APPLICATIONS (mHEALTH-APPS)in GESTATIONAL DIABTETES MELLITUS: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW (Preprint)

10.2196/preprints.23016 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Claudia Eberle ◽

Maxine Löhnert

Keyword(s):

Mobile Health ◽

Cochrane Library ◽

Clinical Parameters ◽

Control Groups ◽

Manual Search ◽

Mobile Health Applications ◽

Short And Long Term ◽

Mhealth Apps ◽

Health Applications

BACKGROUND Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) emerges worldwide and is closely associated with short- and long-term health issues in women and their offspring, such as pregnancy and birth complications respectively comorbidities, Type 2 Diabetes (T2D), Metabolic Syndrome (MetS) as well as cardiovascular disease (CD). Against this background mobile health applications (mHealth-Apps) do open up new possibilities to improve the management of GDM clearly. OBJECTIVE Since there is – to our knowledge – no systematic literature review published, which focusses on the effectiveness of specific mHealth-Apps on clinical health-related short and long-term outcomes of mother and child, we conducted these much-needed analyses. METHODS Data sources: A systematic literature search in Medline (Pubmed), Cochrane Library, Embase, CINAHL and Web of Science was performed including full text publications since 2008 up to date. An additional manual search in references and Google Scholar was conducted subsequently. Study Eligibility Criteria: Women diagnosed with GDM using specific mHealth-Apps during pregnancy compared to control groups, which met main clinical parameters and outcomes in GDM management as well as maternity and offspring care. Study appraisal and synthesis methods: Study quality was assessed and rated “strong”, “moderate” or “weak” by using the Effective Public Health Practice Project (EPHPP) tool. Study results were strongly categorized by outcomes; an additional qualitative summary was assessed. Study selection: Overall, n= 114 studies were analyzed, n= 46 duplicates were removed, n=5 studies met the eligible criteria and n=1 study was assessed by manual search subsequently. In total, n=6 publications, analyzing n=408 GDM patients in the interventional and n=405 women diagnosed with GDM in the control groups, were included. These studies were divided into n=5 two-arm randomized controlled trials (RCT) and n=1 controlled clinical trial (CCT). RESULTS Distinct improvements in clinical parameters and outcomes, such as fasting blood glucoses (FBG), 2-hour postprandial blood glucoses (PBG), off target blood glucose measurements (OTBG), delivery modes and patient compliance were analyzed in GDM patients using specific mHealth-Apps compared to matched control groups. CONCLUSIONS mHealth-Apps clearly improve clinical outcomes in management of GDM effectively. More studies need to be done more in detail.

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Quality benchmarking of smartphone laboratory medicine applications: comparison of laboratory medicine specialists’ and non-laboratory medicine professionals’ evaluation

Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine (CCLM) ◽

10.1515/cclm-2020-0869 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 0 (0) ◽

Author(s):

Snežana Jovičić ◽

Joanna Siodmiak ◽

Marta Duque Alcorta ◽

Maximillian Kittel ◽

Wytze Oosterhuis ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Information Quality ◽

Rating Scale ◽

Laboratory Medicine ◽

Test Results ◽

Content Quality ◽

Laboratory Test Results ◽

System Usability Scale ◽

Mobile Health Applications ◽

Fit For Purpose ◽

Health Applications

AbstractObjectivesThere are many mobile health applications (apps) now available and some that use in some way laboratory medicine data. Among them, patient-oriented are of the lowest content quality. The aim of this study was to compare the opinions of non-laboratory medicine professionals (NLMP) with those of laboratory medicine specialists (LMS) and define the benchmarks for quality assessment of laboratory medicine apps.MethodsTwenty-five volunteers from six European countries evaluated 16 selected patient-oriented apps. Participants were 20–60 years old, 44% were females, with different educational degrees, and no professional involvement in laboratory medicine. Each participant completed a questionnaire based on the Mobile Application Rating Scale (MARS) and the System Usability Scale, as previously used for rating the app quality by LMS. The responses from the two groups were compared using the Mann-Whitney U test and Spearman correlation.ResultsThe median total score of NLMP app evaluation was 2.73 out of 5 (IQR 0.95) compared to 3.78 (IQR 1.05) by the LMS. All scores were statistically significantly lower in the NLMP group (p<0.05), except for the item Information quality (p=0.1631). The suggested benchmarks for a useful appear: increasing awareness of the importance and delivering an understanding of persons’ own laboratory test results; understandable terminology; easy to use; appropriate graphic design, and trustworthy information.ConclusionsNLMP’ evaluation confirmed the low utility of currently available laboratory medicine apps. A reliable app should contain trustworthy and understandable information. The appearance of an app should be fit for purpose and easy to use.

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Mobile Health Applications to Support COVID-19 Self-management: Review and Evaluation

Applied Health Information Technology ◽

10.18502/ahit.v2i2.7992 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Sahar Khenarinezhad ◽

Ehsan Ghazanfari Savadkoohi ◽

Leila Shahmoradi

Keyword(s):

Mobile Health ◽

Mobile Apps ◽

Healthcare Providers ◽

Vital Signs ◽

Complete Information ◽

Self Management ◽

Management Measures ◽

Management Procedures ◽

Mobile Health Applications ◽

Health Applications

Aim: During the epidemic and with an increase in coronavirus (COVID-19) disease prevalence, emergency care is essential to help people stay informed and undertake self-management measures to protect their health. One of these self-management procedures is the use of mobile apps in health. Mobile health (mHealth) applications include mobile devices in collecting clinical health data, sharing healthcare information for practitioners and patients, real-time monitoring of patient vital signs, and the direct provision of care (via mobile telemedicine). Mobile apps are increasing to improve health, but before healthcare providers can recommend these applications to patients, they need to be sure the apps will help change patients' lifestyles. Method: A search was conducted systematically using the keywords "Covid-19," "Coronavirus," "Covid-19, and Self-management" at the "Apple App Store". Then we evaluated the apps according to MARS criteria in May 2020. Results: A total of 145 apps for COVID-19 self-management were identified, but only 32 apps met our inclusion criteria after being assessed. The overall mean MARS score was 2.9 out of 5, and more than half of the apps had a minimum acceptability score (range 2.5-3.9). The "who academy" app received the highest functionality score. Who Academy, Corona-Care and First Responder COVID-19 Guide had the highest scores for behavior change. Conclusion: Our findings showed that few apps meet the quality, content, and functionality criteria for Covid-19 self-management. Therefore, developers should use evidence-based medical guidelines in creating mobile health applications so that, they can provide comprehensive and complete information to both patients and healthcare provider.

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