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Arora, Chirag, and Maryam Razavian. "Ethics of Gamification in Health and Fitness-Tracking." International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 18, no. 21 (October 21, 2021): 11052. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijerph182111052.
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The use of game-like elements is become increasingly popular in the context of fitness and health apps. While such “gamified” apps hold great potential in motivating people to improve their health, they also come with a “darker side”. Recent work suggests that these gamified health apps raise a number of ethical challenges that, if left unaddressed, are not only morally problematic but also have adverse effects on user health and engagement with the apps. However, studies highlighting the ethical challenges of gamification have also met with criticism, indicating that they fall short of providing guidance to practitioners. In avoiding this mistake, this paper seeks to advance the goal of facilitating a practice-relevant guide for designers of gamified health apps to address ethical issues raised by use of such apps. More specifically, the paper seeks to achieve two major aims: (a) to propose a revised practice-relevant theoretical framework that outlines the responsibilities of the designers of gamified health apps, and (b) to provide a landscape of the various ethical issues related to gamified health apps based on a systematic literature review of the empirical literature investigating adverse effects of such apps.
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Tassone, Cristina, Karim Keshavjee, Alessia Paglialonga, Nimia Moreira, Jennifer Pinto, and Yuri Quintana. "Evaluation of mobile apps for treatment of patients at risk of developing gestational diabetes." Health Informatics Journal 26, no. 3 (January 8, 2020): 1983–94. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1460458219896639.
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This study evaluates mobile apps using a theory-based evaluation framework to discover their applicability for patients at risk of gestational diabetes. This study assessed how well the existing mobile apps on the market meet the information and tracking needs of patients with gestational diabetes and evaluated the feasibility of how to integrate these apps into patient care. A search was conducted in the Apple iTunes and Google Play store for mobile apps that contained keywords related to the following concepts of nutrition: diet, tracking, diabetes, and pregnancy. Evaluation criteria were developed to assess the mobile apps on five dimensions. Overall, the apps scored well on education and information functions and scored poorly on engagement functions. There are few apps that provide comprehensive evidence-based educational content, tracking tools, and integration with electronic health records. This study demonstrates the need to develop apps that have comprehensive content, tracking tools, and ability to bidirectionally share data.
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Karasneh, Reema A., Sayer I. Al-Azzam, Karem H. Alzoubi, Suhaib M. Muflih, and Sahar S. Hawamdeh. "Smartphone Applications for Period Tracking: Rating and Behavioral Change among Women Users." Obstetrics and Gynecology International 2020 (September 1, 2020): 1–9. http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2020/2192387.
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Background. The use of mobile apps for health and well-being has grown exponentially in the last decade, as such apps were reported to be ideal platforms for behavioral change and symptoms monitoring and management. Objective. This study aimed to systematically review period tracking applications available at Google Play and Apple App Stores and determine the presence, features, and quality of these smartphone apps. In addition, behavioral changes associated with the top 5 rated apps were assessed. Methods. This study used the Systematic Search Criteria through Google Play Store and iTunes Apple Store, using terms related to period tracking. Apps were scanned for matching the inclusion criteria and the included apps were assessed by two reviewers using the Mobile Application Rating Scale (MARS), a tool that was developed for classifying and assessing the quality of mHealth apps. Results. Forty-nine apps met the inclusion criteria. Most of the apps enabled setting user goals, motivations, and interactivity, tracking multiple symptoms or mood changes, allowed notifications, and used graphs to illustrate the tracking result over a specific period of time. The majority of features and functions within these apps were offered for free, while some apps included limited in-app purchases or needed Internet connection to function. Certain apps were reported by participants to promote behavioral change and increase knowledge and awareness regarding monthly periods. Conclusions. Period tracking apps were easy to use and navigate and can hence be readily adopted into routine tracking and management of periods. However, most apps were not based on significant evidence and may need further development to support period-related symptom management.
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Kim, Yeongju, Jihye Choi, Young-A. Ji, and Hyekyung Woo. "Insights from Review and Content Analysis of Current COVID-19 Mobile Apps and Recommendations for Future Pandemics." International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 19, no. 22 (November 8, 2022): 14652. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijerph192214652.
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A number of mobile health apps related to coronavirus infectious disease 2019 (COVID-19) have been developed, but research into app content analytics for effective surveillance and management is still in its preliminary stages. The present study aimed to identify the purpose and functions of the currently available COVID-19 apps using content analysis. The secondary aim was to propose directions for the future development of apps that aid infectious disease surveillance and control with a focus on enhancing the app content and quality. Prior to conducting an app search in the App Store and the Google Play Store, we reviewed previous studies on COVID-19 apps found in Google Scholar and PubMed to examine the main purposes of the apps. Using the five selected keywords based on the review, we searched the two app stores to retrieve eligible COVID-19 apps including those already addressed in the reviewed literature. We conducted descriptive and content analyses of the selected apps. We classified the purpose types of the COVID-19 apps into the following five categories: information provision, tracking, monitoring, mental health management, and engagement. We identified 890 apps from the review articles and the app stores: 47 apps met the selection criteria and were included in the content analysis. Among the selected apps, iOS apps outnumbered Android apps, 27 apps were government-developed, and most of the apps were created in the United States. The most common function for the iOS apps (63.6%) and Android apps (62.5%) was to provide COVID-19-related knowledge. The most common function among the tracking apps was to notify users of contact with infected people by the iOS apps (40.9%) and Android apps (37.5%). About 29.5% of the iOS apps and 25.0% of the Android apps were used to record symptoms and self-diagnose. Significantly fewer apps targeted mental health management and engagement. Six iOS apps (6/44, 13.6%) and four Android apps (4/24, 16.7%) provided behavioral guidelines about the pandemic. Two iOS apps (2/44, 4.5%) and two Android apps (2/24, 8.3%) featured communication functions. The present content analysis revealed that most of the apps provided unilateral information and contact tracing or location tracking. Several apps malfunctioned. Future research and development of COVID-19 apps or apps for other emerging infectious diseases should address the quality and functional improvements, which should begin with continuous monitoring and actions to mitigate any technical errors.
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Womack, Jasmyne J., LaKesha N. Anderson, and Christy J. W. Ledford. "Presence of Complex and Potentially Conflicting Information in Prenatal Mobile Apps." Health Promotion Practice 21, no. 2 (August 27, 2018): 238–45. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1524839918796216.
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Pregnant women are increasingly using mobile apps as a source of supplemental information. These pregnancy-related mobile apps present women with contradictory risk recommendations without the medical research to support their claims. The content analysis describes a sample of the pregnancy-tracking mobile application environment open to pregnant mothers and uses the social amplification of risk framework. Within this framework, written recommendations and the presence or absence of corresponding citations on controversial topics in pregnancy were recorded and risk was coded as received contradictory information. Of the 48 pregnancy-tracking mobile apps downloaded, 11 (22.9%) were associated with either a seller or a developer with a medical background. Only 24 of 48 (50.0%) of the apps cited a source, such as a health professional agency or peer-reviewed research journal for health recommendations. In our results, we show a sampling of contradictory risk recommendations made by mobile apps that cite or do not cite their source for that recommendation on 8 controversial topics in pregnancy. Findings suggest providers treating pregnant women must be aware of the complex information environment and help them navigate the risk information they encounter on some of the most popular pregnancy-tracking mobile apps.
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Friedlander, Anna. "Menstrual Tracking, Fitness Tracking and Body Work: Digital Tracking Tools and Their Use in Optimising Health, Beauty, Wellness and the Aesthetic Self." Youth 3, no. 2 (May 18, 2023): 689–701. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/youth3020045.
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Digital self-tracking tools can be part of body work to measure, monitor, and optimise progress towards idealised versions of the self. Fitness and calorie trackers are obvious examples but menstrual tracking apps, which can track a large range of bodily ‘symptoms’, can also be part of body work. In this article, I present accounts of young people’s menstrual and fitness tracking experiences from existing literature, illustrating how both types of trackers can function as part of their users’ body work. I interweave these stories with an autoethnographic account of my own embodied experiences with and through menstrual and fitness tracking apps. I explore the ways in which health, beauty, and wellness can become enmeshed in self-tracking practices; how emotions, stress, and sleep can become personal problems to solve; how tracking tools can make body work feel more ‘real’; and the mutual but asymmetrical shaping of digital tracking tools and their users. Though there is an existing body of work on young people’s experiences of digital self-tracking tools more generally (particularly health and fitness tracking tools), young people’s use of menstrual tracking apps is a relatively understudied phenomenon to date. The themes identified in this article point towards possible avenues for future research.
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Zečević, Mila, Dejan Mijatović, Mateja Kos Koklič, Vesna Žabkar, and Petar Gidaković. "User Perspectives of Diet-Tracking Apps: Reviews Content Analysis and Topic Modeling." Journal of Medical Internet Research 23, no. 4 (April 22, 2021): e25160. http://dx.doi.org/10.2196/25160.
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Background The availability and use of mobile apps in health and nutrition management are increasing. Ease of access and user friendliness make diet-tracking apps an important ally in their users’ efforts to lose and manage weight. To foster motivation for long-term use and to achieve goals, it is necessary to better understand users’ opinions and needs for dietary self-monitoring. Objective The aim of this study was to identify the key topics and issues that users highlight in their reviews of diet-tracking apps on Google Play Store. Identifying the topics that users frequently mention in their reviews of these apps, along with the user ratings for each of these apps, allowed us to identify areas where further improvement of the apps could facilitate app use, and support users’ weight loss and intake management efforts. Methods We collected 72,084 user reviews from Google Play Store for 15 diet-tracking apps that allow users to track and count calories. After a series of text processing operations, two text-mining techniques (topic modeling and topical n-grams) were applied to the corpus of user reviews of diet-tracking apps. Results Using the topic modeling technique, 11 separate topics were extracted from the pool of user reviews. Most of the users providing feedback were generally satisfied with the apps they use (average rating of 4.4 out of 5 for the 15 apps). Most topics referred to the positive evaluation of the apps and their functions. Negatively rated topics mostly referred to app charges and technical difficulties encountered. We identified the positive and negative topic trigrams (3-word combinations) among the most frequently mentioned topics. Usability and functionality (tracking options) of apps were rated positively on average. Negative ratings were associated with trigrams related to adding new foods, technical issues, and app charges. Conclusions Motivating users to use an app over time could help them better achieve their nutrition goals. Although user reviews generally showed positive opinions and ratings of the apps, developers should pay more attention to users’ technical problems and inform users about expected payments, along with their refund and cancellation policies, to increase user loyalty.
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Peng, Sisi, Yuyin Yang, and Martie G. Haselton. "Menstrual Symptoms: Insights from Mobile Menstrual Tracking Applications for English and Chinese Teenagers." Adolescents 3, no. 3 (June 28, 2023): 394–403. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/adolescents3030027.
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Mobile software applications (apps) have transformed how individuals oversee and maintain their own health. One way that girls can monitor their menstrual cycles is through the increasingly widespread use of mobile menstrual tracking apps. This study aimed to examine menstrual symptom tracking for adolescents in English and Chinese apps, exploring menstrual literacy, cross-cultural differences, and framing, or presentation, of symptoms. The mixed-methods content analysis involved 15 popular free menstrual tracking apps in English (n = 8) and Chinese (n = 7), sampled from December 2022 to January 2023. A quantitative analysis of qualitative data was conducted through manual coding of content and automatically analyzing sentiment, or emotional tone, using a computational approach. We found that (1) menstrual literacy on symptom management or treatment was generally insufficient, (2) there were more available emotional than physical symptoms in English than Chinese apps, and (3) symptoms were framed more negatively than positively somewhat more in Chinese than English apps. Our findings emphasize the urgency to provide better evidence-informed communication about symptoms, either presented more positively or neutrally, in menstrual tracking apps for adolescent users. Since adolescence is a critical developmental stage that requires ample support, we recommend that digital menstrual trackers be crucially improved and future research should investigate how they can uniquely shape attitudes and experiences, and subsequent sexual and reproductive health empowerment and bodily autonomy.
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Trace, Ciaran B., Katherine Cruz, Daiki Yonemaru, and Yan Zhang. "Data ecosystem in self‐tracking health and wellness apps." Proceedings of the Association for Information Science and Technology 54, no. 1 (January 2017): 816–18. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/pra2.2017.14505401169.
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Zhang, Lixuan, and Clinton Amos. "Acceptance of COVID-19 Tracking Apps." Journal of Customer Behaviour 20, no. 4 (December 31, 2021): 301–21. http://dx.doi.org/10.1362/147539221x16356770010758.
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To combat COVID-19, many governments have turned to tracking apps to detect exposure risk or enforce self-quarantine rules. Understanding factors that lead to public acceptance of these apps is essential since the adoption of these apps may help to suppress the pandemic. Based on a survey of 296 American respondents in May 2020, the study investigates the psychological processes that lead to COVID-19 tracking app acceptance. The results show that institutional trust affects acceptance through perceived effectiveness of the apps. In addition, perceived threat moderates the relationship between perceived app effectiveness and acceptance. When the perceived threat level is high, the relationship between perceived app effectiveness and acceptance is stronger. The results of the study provide a fruitful ground for future work that intends to examine the decisionmaking process that may affect health surveillance tracking app acceptance.
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Seberger, John S., and Sameer Patil. "Beyond the Pandemic and Privacy Concerns: Perceived Benefit and Expected Use of Pandemic-Tracking Apps in India." Proceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction 6, CSCW2 (November 7, 2022): 1–29. http://dx.doi.org/10.1145/3555596.
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Pandemic-tracking apps could be a viable pandemic-mitigation technique, although their efficacy has been weakened by limited adoption in many places. Therefore, it is important to investigate how the perceptions of such apps are formed in different regions, which may help explain the differences in adoption. We replicated prior work on the adoption of pandemic-tracking apps in the United States with participants from India (n = 236). We identified that the perceptions of pandemic-tracking apps are connected to social orientation, familiarity with health-related technology, and demographics. We found that the perceptions and expected use were uncorrelated with privacy concerns, suggesting that privacy may not necessarily be the most suitable lens for studying the adoption of pandemic-tracking apps in India. Based on the findings, we make several recommendations for future pandemic-preparedness campaigns and identify the need to continue the trend toward contextualizing privacy-centered research with privacy-adjacent individual factors across multiple regions.
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Barroso-Hurtado, María, Daniel Suárez-Castro, Carmela Martínez-Vispo, Elisardo Becoña, and Ana López-Durán. "Smoking Cessation Apps: A Systematic Review of Format, Outcomes, and Features." International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 18, no. 21 (November 6, 2021): 11664. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijerph182111664.
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Smoking cessation interventions are effective, but they are not easily accessible for all treatment-seeking smokers. Mobile health (mHealth) apps have been used in recent years to overcome some of these limitations. Smoking cessation apps can be used in combination with a face-to-face intervention (FFSC-Apps), or alone as general apps (GSC-Apps). The aims of this review were (1) to examine the effects of FFSC-Apps and GSC-Apps on abstinence, tobacco use, and relapse rates; and (2) to describe their features. A systematic review was conducted following the internationally Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) statement. Of the total 6016 studies screened, 24 were included, of which nine used GSC-Apps and 15 FFSC-Apps. Eight studies reported significant differences between conditions in smoking cessation outcomes, with three of them being in favor of the use of apps, and two between different point-assessments. Concerning Apps features, most GSC-Apps included self-tracking and setting a quit plan, whereas most of the FFSC-Apps included self-tracking and carbon monoxide (CO) measures. Smartphone apps for smoking cessation could be promising tools. However, more research with an adequate methodological quality is needed to determine its effect. Nevertheless, smartphone apps’ high availability and attractiveness represent a great opportunity to reach large populations.
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Yang, Qinghua. "Theory-Based Social and Non-Social Engagement Features in Smoking Cessation Mobile Apps: A Content Analysis." International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 18, no. 17 (August 29, 2021): 9106. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18179106.
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Despite the ubiquity of smartphone ownership and the increasing integration of social engagement features in smoking cessation apps to engage users, the social and non-social engagement features that are present in current smoking cessation apps and the effectiveness of these features in engaging users remain understudied. To fill the gap in the literature, a content analysis of free and paid smoking cessation mobile apps was conducted to examine (a) the presence of social features (i.e., social support, social announcement, and social referencing) and non-social engagement features (e.g., personal environmental changes, goal setting, progress tracking, reinforcement tracking, self-monitoring, and personalized recommendations) and (b) their relationships with user engagement scores measured by the Mobile App Rating Scale. In this study, 28.2% of the smoking cessation apps enable social announcement and 8.1% offered the social support feature. Only two apps provided a social referencing feature (1.3%). No app included reinforcement tracking, with the percentage of other non-social engagement features ranging from 9.4% to 49.0%. Social support (β = 0.30, p < 0.001), social announcement (β = 0.21, p < 0.05), and social referencing (β = 0.18, p < 0.05) were significant predictors of user engagement. Regarding the non-social engagement features, personal environment changes (β = 0.38, p < 0.001), progress tracking (β = 0.18, p < 0.05), and personalized recommendations (β = 0.37, p < 0.001) significantly predicted user engagement. The findings not only contribute to the mobile communication literature by applying and extending the theory-based mobile health apps engagement typology, but also inform the future architecture design of smoking cessation mobile apps.
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Dinour, Lauren M., and Antoinette Pole. "Evaluation of Breastfeeding App Features: Content Analysis Study." JMIR Pediatrics and Parenting 5, no. 4 (October 26, 2022): e37581. http://dx.doi.org/10.2196/37581.
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Background While a variety of health apps abound, less than half of adults in the United States report using a health app, despite the ubiquity of smartphones among users aged 18 to 49 years. Several studies have examined the use of breastfeeding apps; however, less is known about the types of features found on these apps and what factors might influence app ratings. Objective This paper seeks to characterize breastfeeding apps, assess whether apps with higher user ratings differ from apps with lower user ratings in their tracking and nontracking features, and analyze whether the type and number of features predict user star ratings and whether an app is higher- or lower-rated. Methods Using a cross-sectional design, a convenience sample of breastfeeding apps was culled from the Apple App Store (iOS) and Google Play Store (Android). Content analysis of the apps (N=82) was conducted using a schema of 87 items, which was then compiled into 9 topical indices for breastfeeding, bottle feeding, solid foods, infant health, infant care, technical characteristics, informatics, informational characteristics, and interactivity. Analysis consisted of descriptive statistics, the Mann-Whitney U test, and Spearman rank correlations. Linear regression and binary logistic regression analyses were conducted to determine which features predicted user star ratings. Results On average, users rated breastfeeding apps 4.4 of 5 stars. Two-thirds of apps (n=54) were higher rated (≥4.5 stars), and one-third (n=28) were lower rated (<4.5 stars). Higher-rated apps offered more tracking features for breastfeeding, bottle feeding, solid foods, infant health, and infant care than lower-rated apps. The breastfeeding, solid-food, and technical indices explained 17% of user star ratings. For each additional breastfeeding and solid-food feature, we can expect to see a 27% and 35% increase, respectively, in user star ratings. Additionally, as the number of solid-food features increased, the odds that the app is higher rated increased 1.58 times. Conclusions Our findings suggest user ratings are driven in part by tracking features, specifically those related to breastfeeding and solid foods. The proliferation of mobile health apps offers opportunities for parents and caregivers to track behaviors associated with infant feeding and other health metrics in a dynamic, detailed, and comprehensive manner. Hence, breastfeeding apps have the potential to promote and support breastfeeding among users.
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Griffiths, Carly, Lisa Harnack, and Mark A. Pereira. "Assessment of the accuracy of nutrient calculations of five popular nutrition tracking applications." Public Health Nutrition 21, no. 8 (March 14, 2018): 1495–502. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s1368980018000393.
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AbstractObjectiveTo assess the accuracy of nutrient intake calculations from leading nutrition tracking applications (apps).DesignNutrient intake estimates from thirty 24 h dietary recalls collected using Nutrition Data System for Research (NDSR) were compared with intake calculations from these recalls entered by the researcher into five free nutrition tracking apps. Apps were selected from the Apple App Store based on consumer popularity from the list of free ‘Health and Fitness’ apps classified as a nutrition tracking apps.SubjectsDietary recall data collected from thirty lower-income adults.ResultsCorrelations between nutrient intake calculations from NDSR and the nutrition tracking apps ranged from 0·73 to 0·96 for energy and macronutrients. Correlations for the other nutrients examined (Na, total sugars, fibre, cholesterol, saturated fat) ranged from 0·57 to 0·93. For each app, one or more mean nutrient intake calculations were significantly lower than those from NDSR. These differences included total protein (P=0·03), total fat (P=0·005), Na (P=0·02) and cholesterol (P=0·005) for MyFitnessPal; dietary fibre (P=0·04) for Fitbit; total protein (P=0·0004), total fat (P=0·008), Na (P=0·002), sugars (P=0·007), cholesterol (P=0·0006) and saturated fat (P=0·005) for Lose It!; Na (P=0·03) and dietary fibre (P=0·005) for MyPlate; and total fat (P=0·03) for Lifesum.ConclusionsFindings suggest that nutrient calculations from leading nutrition tracking apps tend to be lower than those from NDSR, a dietary analysis software developed for research purposes. Further research is needed to evaluate the validity of the apps when foods consumed are entered by consumers.
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Milidonis, Mary, and Carolyn Menges. "ARE PAIN APPS USABLE? MHEALTH LITERACY FRAMEWORK." Innovation in Aging 6, Supplement_1 (November 1, 2022): 593. http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/geroni/igac059.2219.
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Abstract Older adults are at risk for low health literacy and not adhering to self-care. Health professionals are shifting their practices to emphasize wellbeing through health promotion. Mobile pain applications may be a tool to improve health communication and individualize care. Mobile health apps do not always consider the needs of the older adult who may be less comfortable and confident with technology. The purpose of this qualitative review is to explore mobile pain applications for adults with a health literacy framework, and identify facilitators and barriers to usability. Databases that reviewed apps included Google, Google Scholar, ScienceDirect, PubMed, CINAHL plus full text, APTA EBP database, MEDline, and SportDiscus. Fifty-three apps found. Excluded criteria: if there was a cost, targeted for children, and without pain diary. Six apps identified to be specifically relevant to pain intensity, location quality, and impact on life. Mobile Application Rating System (MARS) tool assessed engagement, functionality, aesthetics, information quality, and subjective quality. All apps were engaging, allowed for tracking symptoms and life impact over time. Some apps were difficult to navigate, did not offer education support. Two of the apps individualized pain. Two apps are on only accessible on one app platform. One app allowed for feedback about the app design. Pain mobile health applications can improve tracking, managing and understanding pain for improved mobility and social engagement for older adults. The use of health literacy frameworks with mobile health applications may increase accessibility to care.
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Kim, Yoojung, Bongshin Lee, and Eun Kyoung Choe. "Investigating data accessibility of personal health apps." Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association 26, no. 5 (March 12, 2019): 412–19. http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/jamia/ocz003.
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Abstract Objective Despite the potential values self-tracking data could offer, we have little understanding of how much access people have to “their” data. Our goal of this article is to unveil the current state of the data accessibility—the degree to which people can access their data—of personal health apps in the market. Materials and Methods We reviewed 240 personal health apps from the App Store and selected 45 apps that support semi-automated tracking. We characterized the data accessibility of these apps using two dimensions—data access methods and data types. Results More than 90% of our sample apps (n = 41) provide some types of data access support, which include synchronizing data with a health platform (ie, Apple Health), file download, and application program interfaces. However, the two approachable data access methods for laypeople—health platform and file download—typically put a significant limit on data format, granularity, and amount, which constrains people from easily repurposing the data. Discussion Personal data should be accessible to the people who collect them, but existing methods lack sufficient support for people in accessing the fine-grained data. Lack of standards in personal health data schema as well as frequent changes in market conditions are additional hurdles to data accessibility. Conclusions Many stakeholders including patients, healthcare providers, researchers, third-party developers, and the general public rely on data accessibility to utilize personal data for various goals. As such, improving data accessibility should be considered as an important factor in designing personal health apps and health platforms.
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Larsen, Mark Erik, Jennifer Nicholas, and Helen Christensen. "Quantifying App Store Dynamics: Longitudinal Tracking of Mental Health Apps." JMIR mHealth and uHealth 4, no. 3 (August 9, 2016): e96. http://dx.doi.org/10.2196/mhealth.6020.
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Qan’ir, Yousef, Anas Husam Khalifeh, Moawia Eid, Basmah Hammad, and Mohammad Al-Batran. "Mobile health apps use among Jordanian outpatients: A descriptive study." Health Informatics Journal 27, no. 2 (April 2021): 146045822110179. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/14604582211017940.
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Our purpose in this descriptive cross-sectional study was to examine the prevalence of mobile health (mHealth) apps use, factors associated with downloading mHealth apps, and to describe characteristics of mHealth apps use among Jordanian patients in government-sponsored outpatient clinics. A total of 182 (41.6%) of the 438 outpatients who completed questionnaires downloaded mHealth apps. Common reasons for downloading mHealth apps included tracking physical activity, losing weight, learning exercises, as well as monitoring, and controlling diet. More than two thirds of the users (70%) stopped using the apps they downloaded due to loss of interest, lack of anticipated support, too time consuming, or better apps available. The most common personal reasons for never downloading mHealth apps were lack of interest, in good health, and the most common technical reasons included a limited data plan, lack of trust, cost, and complexity of the apps. We also found that gender, age, weight, and educational level influenced the decision whether to download mHealth apps or not. We have shown the potential in mHealth apps use among Jordanian patients is promising, and health care systems must adopt this technology as well as work through population needs and preferences to supply it.
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Antunes, Eduardo, Rita Alcaire, and Inês Amaral. "Wellbeing and (Mental) Health: A Quantitative Exploration of Portuguese Young Adults’ Uses of M-Apps from a Gender Perspective." Social Sciences 12, no. 1 (December 20, 2022): 3. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/socsci12010003.
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Acknowledging the importance of technology in the mental health and wellbeing of individuals during the COVID-19 pandemic, this paper aims to analyse the uses of mobile health applications by young Portuguese adults focusing on the following research question: How do the uses of m-apps by young adults interact with health and wellbeing from a gender perspective? An online survey was conducted to a representative sample of young Portuguese adults (18–30 years), under the objectives of the MyGender project that studies the interconnections of young adults with m-apps, with their technicity and imaginaries. The approach followed in this paper is quantitative-extensive. Results reveal low usage of overall health and wellbeing apps, particularly among single respondents who do not have children. Health and self-tracking apps are among the 10 most frequently used apps. Only 6.20% of the sample considers mental health apps (mHapps) as one of the three most important types of apps. Having children is a factor for a bigger interconnectedness of the respondents with overall health and wellbeing apps and the general quality of care.
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Vermeulen, Euodia, and Sara Grobbelaar. "The structure and information spread capability of the network formed by integrated fitness apps." Information Technology & People 35, no. 8 (August 22, 2022): 311–29. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/itp-12-2021-0948.
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PurposeIn this article we aim to understand how the network formed by fitness tracking devices and associated apps as a subset of the broader health-related Internet of things is capable of spreading information.Design/methodology/approachThe authors used a combination of a content analysis, network analysis, community detection and simulation. A sample of 922 health-related apps (including manufacturers' apps and developers) were collected through snowball sampling after an initial content analysis from a Google search for fitness tracking devices.FindingsThe network of fitness apps is disassortative with high-degree nodes connecting to low-degree nodes, follow a power-law degree distribution and present with low community structure. Information spreads faster through the network than an artificial small-world network and fastest when nodes with high degree centrality are the seeds.Practical implicationsThis capability to spread information holds implications for both intended and unintended data sharing.Originality/valueThe analysis confirms and supports evidence of widespread mobility of data between fitness and health apps that were initially reported in earlier work and in addition provides evidence for the dynamic diffusion capability of the network based on its structure. The structure of the network enables the duality of the purpose of data sharing.
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Aziz, Maryam, Aiman Erbad, Mohamed Basel Almourad, Majid Altuwairiqi, John McAlaney, and Raian Ali. "Did Usage of Mental Health Apps Change during COVID-19? A Comparative Study Based on an Objective Recording of Usage Data and Demographics." Life 12, no. 8 (August 19, 2022): 1266. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/life12081266.
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This paper aims to objectively compare the use of mental health apps between the pre-COVID-19 and during COVID-19 periods and to study differences amongst the users of these apps based on age and gender. The study utilizes a dataset collected through a smartphone app that objectively records the users’ sessions. The dataset was analyzed to identify users of mental health apps (38 users of mental health apps pre-COVID-19 and 81 users during COVID-19) and to calculate the following usage metrics; the daily average use time, the average session time, the average number of launches, and the number of usage days. The mental health apps were classified into two categories: guidance-based and tracking-based apps. The results include the increased number of users of mental health apps during the COVID-19 period as compared to pre-COVID-19. Adults (aged 24 and above), compared to emerging adults (aged 15–24 years), were found to have a higher usage of overall mental health apps and guidance-based mental health apps. Furthermore, during the COVID-19 pandemic, males were found to be more likely to launch overall mental health apps and guidance-based mental health apps compared to females. The findings from this paper suggest that despite the increased usage of mental health apps amongst males and adults, user engagement with mental health apps remained minimal. This suggests the need for these apps to work towards improved user engagement and retention.
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Hamper, Josie. "‘Catching Ovulation’: Exploring Women’s Use of Fertility Tracking Apps as a Reproductive Technology." Body & Society 26, no. 3 (March 31, 2020): 3–30. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1357034x19898259.
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Smartphones are increasingly entangled with the most intimate areas of everyday life, providing possibilities for the continued expansion of digital self-tracking technologies. Within this context, the development of smartphone applications targeted at female reproductive health are offering novel forms and practices of knowledge production about reproductive bodies and processes. This article presents empirical research from the United Kingdom on women’s use of fertility tracking applications, known more generally as fertility apps, while trying to conceive. Drawing on material from interviews with women who had experience of using fertility apps, I demonstrate the significance of this particular form of fertility tracking for the embodied shift from pregnancy prevention to actively facilitating pregnancy, participants’ sense of self and identity and how they perceived the reproductive potentiality of their bodies. I argue that fertility apps are significantly involved in making fertility cycles known and thus configuring the pre-pregnant reproductive body.
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Kalgotra, Pankush, Uzma Raja, and Ramesh Sharda. "Growth in the development of health and fitness mobile apps amid COVID-19 pandemic." DIGITAL HEALTH 8 (January 2022): 205520762211290. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/20552076221129070.
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Objectives Technology in the form of mobile apps has played an essential role in facilitating, tracking, and maintaining health and fitness activities during the pandemic. When countries opted for partial or complete lockdowns to contain the spread of the coronavirus disease 2019 virus, it led to people working on their health and fitness-related activities from their homes, just as they continued working from home. This paper aims to quantify the impact of coronavirus disease 2019 on the development of health and fitness mobile apps. Specifically, we compute the effect of coronavirus disease 2019 on the growth of different sub-categories of health and fitness apps. Methods We scraped data about a population of 78,890 health and fitness apps from the iOS App Store. First, categories of health and fitness apps are identified using text analysis on the descriptions of apps. Second, the rise in the development of new apps is analyzed. To quantify the impact of coronavirus disease 2019 on the growth of the health and fitness apps, multiple time-series forecasting models are created for different categories of health and fitness apps. Results The text analysis identified twelve different types of health and fitness apps on the app market. Our models estimated that the number of health and fitness apps on the iOS app market exceeded the expected growth by 29.9% after the pandemic. The results of all categories of health and fitness are discussed in the paper. Conclusions Our analysis found significant growth in the development of new health and fitness apps after the pandemic outbreak. The post hoc study of the population of health and fitness apps presented the current state of this particular area of the app market. In addition, it provided potential growth areas in app markets where there are fewer apps.
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Chung, Arlene E., Ashley C. Griffin, Dasha Selezneva, and David Gotz. "Health and Fitness Apps for Hands-Free Voice-Activated Assistants: Content Analysis." JMIR mHealth and uHealth 6, no. 9 (September 24, 2018): e174. http://dx.doi.org/10.2196/mhealth.9705.
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Background Hands-free voice-activated assistants and their associated devices have recently gained popularity with the release of commercial products, including Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant. Voice-activated assistants have many potential use cases in healthcare including education, health tracking and monitoring, and assistance with locating health providers. However, little is known about the types of health and fitness apps available for voice-activated assistants as it is an emerging market. Objective This review aimed to examine the characteristics of health and fitness apps for commercially available, hands-free voice-activated assistants, including Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant. Methods Amazon Alexa Skills Store and Google Assistant app were searched to find voice-activated assistant apps designated by vendors as health and fitness apps. Information was extracted for each app including name, description, vendor, vendor rating, user reviews and ratings, cost, developer and security policies, and the ability to pair with a smartphone app and website and device. Using a codebook, two reviewers independently coded each app using the vendor’s descriptions and the app name into one or more health and fitness, intended age group, and target audience categories. A third reviewer adjudicated coding disagreements until consensus was reached. Descriptive statistics were used to summarize app characteristics. Results Overall, 309 apps were reviewed; health education apps (87) were the most commonly occurring, followed by fitness and training (72), nutrition (33), brain training and games (31), and health monitoring (25). Diet and calorie tracking apps were infrequent. Apps were mostly targeted towards adults and general audiences with few specifically geared towards patients, caregivers, or medical professionals. Most apps were free to enable or use and 18.1% (56/309) could be paired with a smartphone app and website and device; 30.7% (95/309) of vendors provided privacy policies; and 22.3% (69/309) provided terms of use. The majority (36/42, 85.7%) of Amazon Alexa apps were rated by the vendor as mature or guidance suggested, which were geared towards adults only. When there was a user rating available, apps had a wide range of ratings from 1 to 5 stars with a mean of 2.97. Google Assistant apps did not have user reviews available, whereas most of Amazon Alexa apps had at least 1-9 reviews available. Conclusions The emerging market of health and fitness apps for voice-activated assistants is still nascent and mainly focused on health education and fitness. Voice-activated assistant apps had a wide range of content areas but many published in the health and fitness categories did not actually have a clear health or fitness focus. This may, in part, be due to Amazon and Google policies, which place restrictions on the delivery of care or direct recording of health data. As in the mobile app market, the content and functionalities may evolve to meet growing demands for self-monitoring and disease management.
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Mustafa, Abdulsalam Salihu, Nor’ashikin Ali, Jaspaljeet Singh Dhillon, Gamal Alkawsi, and Yahia Baashar. "User Engagement and Abandonment of mHealth: A Cross-Sectional Survey." Healthcare 10, no. 2 (January 24, 2022): 221. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/healthcare10020221.
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Mobile health (mHealth) apps have great potential to improve health outcomes. Given that mHealth apps have become ubiquitous, there is limited focus on their abandonment. Data concerning crucial metrics, including reasons for adoption and discontinued use, are limited. This study aims to gain broad insights into utilization of mHealth and game-like features promoting user engagement. We conducted a cross-sectional survey of 209 mHealth users worldwide. The 17-item survey assessed sociodemographics, as well as the key motivators for mHealth uptake and discontinued use. Our findings show that sports and fitness activity tracking were the most common categories of health apps, with most users engaging with them at least several times a week. Interestingly, the most downloaded mHealth apps among younger adults include MyFitnessPal, Fitbit, Nike Run Club, and Samsung Health. Critical drivers of abandonment of mHealth apps were amotivation, loss of interest, and experimenting with different apps to identify the most suitable tool. Additionally, the financial cost of mHealth apps is crucial, with most participants advocating for free or more affordable apps. The study findings suggest that while many individuals utilize mHealth, several factors drive their abandonment. Moreover, data indicate that mHealth developers need to consider gamification strategies to sustain user commitment, as well as psychological variables, such as intrinsic motivation.
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Mitchell, Scott S. D. "“Warning! You’re entering a sick zone”." Online Information Review 43, no. 6 (October 14, 2019): 1046–62. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/oir-03-2018-0075.
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Purpose Traditional public health methods for tracking contagious diseases are increasingly complemented with digital tools, which use data mining, analytics and crowdsourcing to predict disease outbreaks. In recent years, alongside these public health tools, commercial mobile apps such as Sickweather have also been released. Sickweather collects information from across the web, as well as self-reports from users, so that people can see who is sick in their neighborhood. The purpose of this paper is to examine the privacy and surveillance implications of digital disease tracking tools. Design/methodology/approach The author performed a content and platform analysis of two apps, Sickweather and HealthMap, by using them for three months, taking regular screenshots and keeping a detailed user journal. This analysis was guided by the walkthrough method and a cultural-historical activity theory framework, taking note of imagery and other content, but also the app functionalities, including characteristics of membership, “rules” and parameters of community mobilization and engagement, monetization and moderation. This allowed me to study HealthMap and Sickweather as modes of governance that allow for (and depend upon) certain actions and particular activity systems. Findings Draw on concepts of network power, the surveillance assemblage, and Deleuze’s control societies, as well as the data gathered from the content and platform analysis, the author argues that disease tracking apps construct disease threat as omnipresent and urgent, compelling users to submit personal information – including sensitive health data – with little oversight or regulation. Originality/value Disease tracking mobile apps are growing in popularity yet have received little attention, particularly regarding privacy concerns or the construction of disease risk.
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Qu, Chengcheng, Corina Sas, Claudia Daudén Roquet, and Gavin Doherty. "Functionality of Top-Rated Mobile Apps for Depression: Systematic Search and Evaluation." JMIR Mental Health 7, no. 1 (January 24, 2020): e15321. http://dx.doi.org/10.2196/15321.
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Background In the last decade, there has been a proliferation of mobile apps claiming to support the needs of people living with depression. However, it is unclear what functionality is actually provided by apps for depression, or for whom they are intended. Objective This paper aimed to explore the key features of top-rated apps for depression, including descriptive characteristics, functionality, and ethical concerns, to better inform the design of apps for depression. Methods We reviewed top-rated iPhone OS (iOS) and Android mobile apps for depression retrieved from app marketplaces in spring 2019. We applied a systematic analysis to review the selected apps, for which data were gathered from the 2 marketplaces and through direct use of the apps. We report an in-depth analysis of app functionality, namely, screening, tracking, and provision of interventions. Of the initially identified 482 apps, 29 apps met the criteria for inclusion in this review. Apps were included if they remained accessible at the moment of evaluation, were offered in mental health–relevant categories, received a review score greater than 4.0 out of 5.0 by more than 100 reviewers, and had depression as a primary target. Results The analysis revealed that a majority of apps specify the evidence base for their intervention (18/29, 62%), whereas a smaller proportion describes receiving clinical input into their design (12/29, 41%). All the selected apps are rated as suitable for children and adolescents on the marketplace, but 83% (24/29) do not provide a privacy policy consistent with their rating. The findings also show that most apps provide multiple functions. The most commonly implemented functions include provision of interventions (24/29, 83%) either as a digitalized therapeutic intervention or as support for mood expression; tracking (19/29, 66%) of moods, thoughts, or behaviors for supporting the intervention; and screening (9/29, 31%) to inform the decision to use the app and its intervention. Some apps include overtly negative content. Conclusions Currently available top-ranked apps for depression on the major marketplaces provide diverse functionality to benefit users across a range of age groups; however, guidelines and frameworks are still needed to ensure users’ privacy and safety while using them. Suggestions include clearly defining the age of the target population and explicit disclosure of the sharing of users’ sensitive data with third parties. In addition, we found an opportunity for apps to better leverage digital affordances for mitigating harm, for personalizing interventions, and for tracking multimodal content. The study further demonstrated the need to consider potential risks while using depression apps, including the use of nonvalidated screening tools, tracking negative moods or thinking patterns, and exposing users to negative emotional expression content.
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Armstrong, Courtney C., Erica J. Odukoya, Keerthi Sundaramurthy, and Sabrina M. Darrow. "Youth and Provider Perspectives on Behavior-Tracking Mobile Apps: Qualitative Analysis." JMIR Mental Health 8, no. 4 (April 22, 2021): e24482. http://dx.doi.org/10.2196/24482.
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Background Mobile health apps stand as one possible means of improving evidence-based mental health interventions for youth. However, a better understanding of youth and provider perspectives is necessary to support widespread implementation. Objective The objective of this research was to explore both youth and provider perspectives on using mobile apps to enhance evidence-based clinical care, with an emphasis on gathering perspectives on behavior-tracking apps. Methods Inductive qualitative analysis was conducted on data obtained from semistructured interviews held with 10 youths who received psychotherapy and 12 mental health care providers who conducted therapy with youths aged 13-26 years. Interviews were independently coded by multiple coders and consensus meetings were held to establish reliability. Results During the interviews, the youths and providers broadly agreed on the benefits of behavior tracking and believed that tracking via app could be more enjoyable and accessible. Providers and youths also shared similar concerns that negative emotions and user burden could limit app usage. Participants also suggested potential app features that, if implemented, would help meet the clinical needs of providers and support long-term use among youth. Such features included having a pleasant user interface, reminders for clients, and graphical output of data to clients and providers. Conclusions Youths and providers explained that the integration of mobile health into psychotherapy has the potential to make treatment, particularly behavior tracking, easy and more accessible. However, both groups had concerns about the increased burden that could be placed on the clients and providers.
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Jezrawi, Rita, Sarmini Balakumar, Rafia Masud, Itzhak Gabizon, Vinai Bhagirath, Jobin Varughese, Michael Brown, et al. "Patient and physician perspectives on the use and outcome measures of mHealth apps: Exploratory survey and focus group study." DIGITAL HEALTH 8 (January 2022): 205520762211027. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/20552076221102773.
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Objective Factors that physicians and patients consider when making decisions about using or recommending health apps are not well understood. We explored these factors to better assess how to support such decision making. Methods We conducted an exploratory cross-sectional study in Ontario using qualitative focus groups and quantitative surveys. 133 physicians and 94 community dwelling adults completed online surveys and we held two focus groups of nine community dwelling participants who had cardiovascular risk factors and an interest in using mHealth apps. Quantitative survey data was analyzed descriptively. Focus groups were audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim prior to inductive thematic content analysis. We integrated the results from the surveys and focus groups to understand factors that influence physicians' and patients' selection and use of such apps. Results Physicians recommend apps to patients but the level of evidence they prefer to use to guide selection did not align with what they were currently using. Patients trusted recommendations and reviews from medical organizations and healthcare professionals when selecting apps and were motivated to continue using apps when they supported goal setting and tracking, data sharing, decision making, and empowerment. Conclusions The findings highlight the significance of evaluating mHealth apps based on metrics that patients and physicians value beyond usage and clinical outcome data. Patients engage with apps that support them in confidently managing their health. Increased training and awareness of apps and creating a more rigorous evidence base showing the value of apps to supporting health goals will support greater adoption and acceptance of mHealth apps.
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Mahmood, Asos, Satish Kedia, David K. Wyant, SangNam Ahn, and Soumitra S. Bhuyan. "Use of mobile health applications for health-promoting behavior among individuals with chronic medical conditions." DIGITAL HEALTH 5 (January 2019): 205520761988218. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/2055207619882181.
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Background Chronic medical conditions (CCs) are leading causes of morbidity and mortality in the United States. Strategies to control CCs include targeting unhealthy behaviors, often through the use of patient empowerment tools, such as mobile health (mHealth) technology. However, no conclusive evidence exists that mHealth applications (apps) are effective among individuals with CCs for chronic disease self-management. Methods We used data from the Health Information National Trends Survey (HINTS 5, Cycle 1, 2017). A sample of 1864 non-institutionalized US adults (≥18 years) who had a smartphone and/or a tablet computer and at least one CC was analyzed. Using multivariable logistic regressions, we assessed predisposing, enabling, and need predictors of three health-promoting behaviors (HPBs): tracking progress on a health-related goal, making a health-related decision, and health-related discussions with a care provider among smart device and mHealth apps owners. Results Compared to those without mHealth apps, individuals with mHealth apps had significantly higher odds of using their smart devices to track progress on a health-related goal (adjusted odds ratio (aOR) 8.74, 95% confidence interval (CI): 5.66–13.50, P < .001), to make a health-related decision (aOR 1.77, 95% CI: 1.16–2.71, P < .01) and in health-related discussions with care providers (aOR 2.0, 95% CI: 1.26–3.19, P < .01). Other significant factors of at least one type of HPB among smart device and mHealth apps users were age, gender, education, occupational status, having a regular provider, and self-rated general health. Conclusion mHealth apps are associated with increased rates of HPB among individuals with CCs. However, certain groups, like older adults, are most affected by a digital divide where they have lower access to mHealth apps and thus are not able to take advantage of these tools. Rigorous randomized clinical trials among various segments of the population and different health conditions are needed to establish the effectiveness of these mHealth apps. Healthcare providers should encourage validated mHealth apps for patients with CCs.
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Quach, Shirley, Adam Benoit, Ana Oliveira, Tara L. Packham, Roger Goldstein, and Dina Brooks. "Features and characteristics of publicly available mHealth apps for self-management in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease." DIGITAL HEALTH 9 (January 2023): 205520762311670. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/20552076231167007.
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Mobile health applications (mHealth apps) may be able to support people living with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) to develop the appropriate skills and routines for adequate self-management. Given the wide variety of publicly available mHealth apps, it is important to be aware of their characteristics to optimize their use and mitigate potential harms. Objective To report the characteristics and features of publicly available apps for COPD self-management. Methods MHealth apps designed for patients’ COPD self-management were searched in the Google Play and Apple app stores. Two reviewers trialed and assessed the eligible apps using the MHealth Index and Navigation Database framework to describe the characteristics, qualities, and features of mHealth apps across five domains. Results From the Google Play and Apple stores, thirteen apps were identified and eligible for further evaluation. All thirteen apps were available for Android devices, but only seven were available for Apple devices. Most apps were developed by for-profit organizations (8/13), non-profit organizations (2/13), and unknown developers (3/13). Many apps had privacy policies (9/13), but only three apps described their security systems and two mentioned compliance with local health information and data usage laws. Education was the common app feature; additional features were medication reminders, symptom tracking, journaling, and action planning. None provided clinical evidence to support their use. Conclusions Publicly available COPD apps vary in their designs, features, and overall quality. These apps lack evidence to support their clinical use and cannot be recommended at this time.
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Fowler, Leah R., Charlotte Gillard, and Stephanie R. Morain. "Readability and Accessibility of Terms of Service and Privacy Policies for Menstruation-Tracking Smartphone Applications." Health Promotion Practice 21, no. 5 (February 9, 2020): 679–83. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1524839919899924.
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Over 100 million women track their menstruation using mobile applications (apps). In addition to comparatively unremarkable personal information such as height and weight, these apps collect intimate data like characteristics of vaginal discharge and cervical position. In exchange, many apps claim to predict the timing and duration of menstruation and windows of fertility. From this information, users may modify their sexual behavior based on their reproductive intentions. Though these apps are popular, news reports and prior studies reveal that user expectations about privacy and accuracy often do not align with the content of terms of service and privacy policies. In this article, we analyzed the readability and accessibility of terms of service and privacy policies for 15 popular menstruation-tracking apps. We found that information about data-sharing practices and accuracy is often neither easily accessible nor understandable. As a result, terms of service and privacy policies likely obscure material information about privacy and accuracy, posing safety and reproductive health risks to users. To date, no regulatory body oversees or approves the vast majority of menstruation trackers, leaving the market open to apps that vary widely in quality, accuracy, and levels of protection. We encourage health care professionals to ask their patients and clients about app use and understanding, encourage them to review relevant app-specific information, and discourage use as contraception when indicated. We conclude with recommendations for future research to establish the appropriate standards of disclosure that should govern these and similar types of smartphone-based consumer health technologies.
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Bavngaard, Martin. "Ageing with apps: A Foucauldian study exploring older people’s use of apps in managing their physical health." MedieKultur: Journal of media and communication research 39, no. 74 (May 24, 2023): 29–49. http://dx.doi.org/10.7146/mk.v39i74.132346.
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This article explores the incorporation of mobile applications in older people’s physical health management through the lens of Foucault’s concepts on self-governance. Based on ten interviews with older Danes, the article posits that physical health management practices constitute practices of self-governance, involving participants’ attunement to both physical activity and bodily phenomena, which are both facilitated and optimized through app-based self-tracking. The findings align the rationales driving participants’ efforts with the trajectory of the governmental concept of active ageing. Using apps thus becomes intertwined with participants’ efforts towards ageing successfully, consequently taking on a dual function: Apps strengthen the adherence to norms of conduct for achieving an optimal ageing process by allowing for ubiquitous self-monitoring and self-assessment. Simultaneously, I argue that apps may also act as a gatekeeper, as lacking the technical competencies to efficiently use apps hinders effective health management and thus clashes with efforts conforming to active ageing.
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Liu, Yan, and Hongfa Yi. "Social networking smartphone applications and emotional health among college students: The moderating role of social support." Science Progress 105, no. 4 (October 2022): 003685042211444. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/00368504221144439.
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Young people are increasingly using social networking site (SNS) smartphone applications (apps), necessitating research on the effects of such use on the users’ emotional health. The present study recruited 360 college students across mainland China and recorded their smartphone usage for one week using an automatic tracking app. Surveys assessing social support perception and emotional health were subsequently conducted. The study examined the relationship between SNS smartphone app usage (frequency and duration) and emotional health, as well as the moderating role of perceived social support in SNS smartphone usage and emotional health. Among individuals with high social support, SNS smartphone use was more strongly associated with better emotional health. These results suggest conditional benefits of using SNS smartphone apps, depending on the user's perceived social support. The implications for designing and using SNS smartphone apps are also discussed.
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Keller, Veronika, and Ida Ercsey. "Thematic analysis of google play reviews of lifestyle apps." Human Technology 19, no. 1 (May 22, 2023): 82–102. http://dx.doi.org/10.14254/1795-6889.2023.19-1.6.
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Worldwide, numerous studies have been conducted on m-health applications and the results show that, if well-designed, they can regulate and track medication and reduce healthcare costs. The aim of this research is to analyze the experiences of users connected to different lifestyle apps, in particular (1) to explore the negative, neutral and positive topics in the reviews, and (2) to discover the role of health improvement among the comments. The present paper is part of a complex empirical research project. A qualitative and quantitative content analysis was conducted of the user reviews in the Google Play store for the 16 lifestyle apps selected during the first phase of the empirical research (quasi experiment). All in all, 2,835 comments were analyzed. The negative comments mentioned unreliable tracking functions, problems with updates, or high prices. The neutral comments outlined some missing functions or problems with the operation of the app. The positive comments were related to health improvement, usefulness, ease of use, engagement and willingness to recommend the app. Physical activity, facilitating a specific diet, weight loss, wellbeing, tracking progress and health awareness were among the common health aspects of the lifestyle apps. The results of this research will be particularly useful for consumers, app developers and service providers who focus on health awareness and health promotion.
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Almalki, Manal, and Anna Giannicchi. "Health Apps for Combating COVID-19: Descriptive Review and Taxonomy." JMIR mHealth and uHealth 9, no. 3 (March 2, 2021): e24322. http://dx.doi.org/10.2196/24322.
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Background Mobile phone apps have been leveraged to combat the spread of COVID-19. However, little is known about these technologies’ characteristics, technical features, and various applications in health care when responding to this public health crisis. The lack of understanding has led developers and governments to make poor choices about apps’ designs, which resulted in creating less useful apps that are overall less appealing to consumers due to their technical flaws. Objective This review aims to identify, analyze, and categorize health apps related to COVID-19 that are currently available for consumers in app stores; in particular, it focuses on exploring their key technical features and classifying the purposes that these apps were designed to serve. Methods A review of health apps was conducted using the PRISMA-ScR (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses Extension for Scoping Reviews) guidelines. The Apple Store and Google Play were searched between April 20 and September 11, 2020. An app was included if it was dedicated for this disease and was listed under the health and medical categories in these app stores. The descriptions of these apps were extracted from the apps’ web pages and thematically analyzed via open coding to identify both their key technical features and overall purpose. The characteristics of the included apps were summarized and presented with descriptive statistics. Results Of the 298 health apps that were initially retrieved, 115 met the inclusion criteria. A total of 29 technical features were found in our sample of apps, which were then categorized into five key purposes of apps related to COVID-19. A total of 77 (67%) apps were developed by governments or national authorities and for the purpose of promoting users to track their personal health (9/29, 31%). Other purposes included raising awareness on how to combat COVID-19 (8/29, 27%), managing exposure to COVID-19 (6/29, 20%), monitoring health by health care professionals (5/29, 17%), and conducting research studies (1/29, 3.5%). Conclusions This study provides an overview and taxonomy of the health apps currently available in the market to combat COVID-19 based on their differences in basic technical features and purpose. As most of the apps were provided by governments or national authorities, it indicates the essential role these apps have as tools in public health crisis management. By involving most of the population in self-tracking their personal health and providing them with the technology to self-assess, the role of these apps is deemed to be a key driver for a participatory approach to curtail the spread of COVID-19. Further effort is required from researchers to evaluate these apps’ effectiveness and from governmental organizations to increase public awareness of these digital solutions.
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Masciantonio, Marcello G., and Aneta A. Surmanski. "Medical smartphone applications." University of Western Ontario Medical Journal 86, no. 2 (December 3, 2017): 51–53. http://dx.doi.org/10.5206/uwomj.v86i2.2030.
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Smartphones have a variety of unique features including text-message communication, camera, sensors, and health applications (apps), which can be used to assist in monitoring an individual’s health, diet, and exercise, as well as support goal-focused strategies personalized to user needs. Mental health and diabetes management apps are two prominent examples that have been shown to be effective in improving specific health outcomes. Mental health apps provide day-to-day patient care by teaching users how to reduce stress, focusing on strategies to enhance mental well-being. Apps such as Kokoro, Headspace, and PRISM have been demonstrated to reduce symptoms of depression and anxiety, and psycho-education apps have been demonstrated to reduce symptoms and to enhance concentration during specific tasks. Many diabetes apps are accessible by patients and physicians, and include tracking features for nutrition, fitness, and hemoglobin A1c levels. Specialized apps with text-messaging services and personalized support have been associated with improvements in blood pressure and blood glucose control. Social forums also provide patients privacy and the freedom to discuss their conditions with comfort. Health apps are easily accessible and available at low or no cost, and can be an effective tool for educating patients with chronic disease, supporting collaborative self-management, extending the impact of healthcare providers, and include response anonymity. There remain significant challenges including the protection of private health information and the development of regulatory frameworks to evaluate app quality, effectiveness, and absence of harm. Overall, the implementation of smartphone apps in healthcare systems may decrease demand in clinics, reduce healthcare costs, and lead to an improvement in patient health.
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Fernandez-Luque, Luis, José I. Labarta, Ella Palmer, and Ekaterina Koledova. "Content Analysis of Apps for Growth Monitoring and Growth Hormone Treatment: Systematic Search in the Android App Store." JMIR mHealth and uHealth 8, no. 2 (February 18, 2020): e16208. http://dx.doi.org/10.2196/16208.
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Background The use of mobile apps for health is growing. This rapid growth in the number of health apps can make it hard to assess their quality and features. The increased demand for and availability of mobile health apps highlights the importance of regular publication of reviews to identify potential areas of unmet needs and concern. The focus of this review is mobile apps for monitoring growth for health care professionals, caregivers, and patients. Monitoring growth as a part of healthy physical development is important across different periods of childhood and adolescence. Objective The goal of this content analysis is to map and understand the types of apps that currently exist that are related to growth monitoring and growth hormone treatment. Methods A semiautomated search was undertaken using the app search engine 42Matters, complemented by a manual search for growth apps using the web search tool of Google Play (Android App Store). Apps were rated on their relevance to growth monitoring and categorized by independent raters. Results In total, 76 apps were rated relevant to growth monitoring or growth hormone treatment. The level of agreement was measured for the semiautomated search and was very high (Κ=0.97). The target audience for 87% of the apps (66/76) was patients and relatives, followed by health care professionals (11%; 8/76) and both (3%; 2/76). Apps in the category “growth tracking tools for children and babies” were retrieved most often (46%; 35/76) followed by “general baby care apps” (32%; 24/76), “nonpharmacological solutions for growth” (12%; 9/76) and “growth hormone–related” (11%; 8/76). Overall, 19/76 apps (25%) tracked a precise location. Conclusions This study mapped the type of apps currently available for growth monitoring or growth hormone treatment that can be used as a foundation for more detailed evaluations of app quality. The popularity of care apps for children and growth monitoring apps should provide a great channel for potential intervention in childhood health in the future.
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Camacho, Erica, Asher Cohen, and John Torous. "Assessment of Mental Health Services Available Through Smartphone Apps." JAMA Network Open 5, no. 12 (December 28, 2022): e2248784. http://dx.doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2022.48784.
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ImportanceAs more patients and clinicians are turning to mental health smartphone apps to expand access to services, little is known about the current state of the app marketplaces and what these apps are actually offering in terms of features, privacy, price, and services.ObjectiveTo assess the current state of mental health apps, explore the association between app privacy scores and popularity as measured by star ratings and downloads, and to understand opportunities and challenges facing the commercial app landscape.Design, Setting, and ParticipantsThis cross-sectional study had trained raters using the public-facing M-Health Index and Navigation Database (MIND) to assess and review 578 mental health apps. The sample of apps used in this analysis were pulled from MIND and include apps across various conditions including schizophrenia, eating disorders, sleep, and more. Analysis of these apps was conducted in June 2022.ExposuresThere were 578 mental health apps rated across 105 dimensions derived from the American Psychiatric Association’s app evaluation framework.Main Outcomes and MeasuresApp raters assessed each app across 6 categories: (1) app origin and accessibility, (2) privacy and security, (3) clinical foundation, (4) features and engagement, (5) inputs and outputs, and (6) interoperability. Privacy scores were determined by 5 MIND criteria, including (1) having a privacy policy, (2) reporting security measures in place, (3) declaring data use and purpose, (4) allowing for the deletion of data, and (5) allowing users to opt out of data collection. Correlations between privacy scores and popularity metrics (star ratings and number of downloads) were measured.ResultsThis study included 578 mental health apps that were identified, assessed, and analyzed across 105 MIND dimensions. Psychoeducation, goal setting, and mindfulness were among the top app features. Of the 578 apps analyzed, 443 (77%) had a privacy policy. This analysis of apps with a privacy policy revealed that there was no statistically significant correlation between privacy scores and Apple App Store (r = 0.058, P = .29) or Google Play Store star ratings (r = 0.041; P = .48). The number of app downloads on the Google Play Store, however, was weakly correlated with privacy scores (χ25 = 22.1; P &lt; .001).Conclusions and RelevanceIn this cross-sectional study of mental health apps, findings indicate that the current app marketplaces primarily offered basic features such as psychoeducation, goal tracking, and mindfulness but fewer innovative features such as biofeedback or specialized therapies. Privacy challenges remained common, and app popularity metrics provided little help in identifying apps with more privacy.
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Nuo, Mingfu, Hongjuan Fang, Tong Wang, Jun Liang, Yunfan He, Hongbin Han, and Jianbo Lei. "Understanding the research on tracking, diagnosing, and intervening in sleep disorders using mHealth apps: Bibliometric analysis and systematic reviews." DIGITAL HEALTH 9 (January 2023): 205520762311659. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/20552076231165967.
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Objectives In solving the global challenge of sleep disorders, Mobile Health app is one of the important means to monitor, diagnose, and intervene in sleep disorders. This study aims to (1) summarize the status and trends of research in this field; (2) assess the production and usage of sleep mHealth apps; (3) calculate the conversion rate of grants that the proportion of newly developed apps from being funded and developed to published on application stores. Methods Using bibliometric and content analysis methods, based on “Research Paper-Product Output-Product Application” chain and considering the “Research Grants” of articles, we conducted a systematic review of eight databases, to identify relevant studies over the last decade. Results Over the past decade, 1399 authors published 313 papers in 182 journals and conferences. The number of publications increased with an average annual growth of 41.6%. The current focus area is research using cognitive behavioral therapy to intervene in sleep. Sleep-staging tracking is a shortcoming of this field. A total 368 sleep mHealth apps (233 newly developed and 135 existing) were examined in 313 papers; 323 grants supported 178 articles (56.9%). Only 12 of the newly developed apps are used in the real world, resulting in a 9% grant conversion rate. Conclusions In the last decade, the field of tracking, diagnosing, and intervening in sleep disorders using mHealth apps has shown a trend of rapid development. However, the conversion rate of products from being funded and developed for use by end-users is low.
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Kondylakis, Haridimos, Dimitrios G. Katehakis, Angelina Kouroubali, Fokion Logothetidis, Andreas Triantafyllidis, Ilias Kalamaras, Konstantinos Votis, and Dimitrios Tzovaras. "COVID-19 Mobile Apps: A Systematic Review of the Literature." Journal of Medical Internet Research 22, no. 12 (December 9, 2020): e23170. http://dx.doi.org/10.2196/23170.
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Background A vast amount of mobile apps have been developed during the past few months in an attempt to “flatten the curve” of the increasing number of COVID-19 cases. Objective This systematic review aims to shed light into studies found in the scientific literature that have used and evaluated mobile apps for the prevention, management, treatment, or follow-up of COVID-19. Methods We searched the bibliographic databases Global Literature on Coronavirus Disease, PubMed, and Scopus to identify papers focusing on mobile apps for COVID-19 that show evidence of their real-life use and have been developed involving clinical professionals in their design or validation. Results Mobile apps have been implemented for training, information sharing, risk assessment, self-management of symptoms, contact tracing, home monitoring, and decision making, rapidly offering effective and usable tools for managing the COVID-19 pandemic. Conclusions Mobile apps are considered to be a valuable tool for citizens, health professionals, and decision makers in facing critical challenges imposed by the pandemic, such as reducing the burden on hospitals, providing access to credible information, tracking the symptoms and mental health of individuals, and discovering new predictors.
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Gross, Marielle S., Amelia Hood, and Bethany Corbin. "Pay No Attention to That Man behind the Curtain: An Ethical Analysis of the Monetization of Menstruation App Data." IJFAB: International Journal of Feminist Approaches to Bioethics 14, no. 2 (September 1, 2021): 144–56. http://dx.doi.org/10.3138/ijfab-2021-03-22.
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The revelation that menstruation tracking apps share sensitive data with third parties, like Facebook, provoked a sense of violation among users. This case highlights the need to address ethics and governance of health data created outside of traditional healthcare contexts. Commodifying health data breaches trust and entails health and moral risks. Through the metaphor of The Wizard of Oz, we argue that these apps approximate healthcare without the professional competency, fiduciary duties, legal protections and liabilities such care requires and thus represent an innovation in the annals of snake-oil salesmanship and the systematic devaluing of women’s bodies, lives, and work.
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John Leon Singh, Hanson, Danielle Couch, and Kevin Yap. "Mobile Health Apps That Help With COVID-19 Management: Scoping Review." JMIR Nursing 3, no. 1 (August 6, 2020): e20596. http://dx.doi.org/10.2196/20596.
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Background Mobile health (mHealth) apps have played an important role in mitigating the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) response. However, there is no resource that provides a holistic picture of the available mHealth apps that have been developed to combat this pandemic. Objective Our aim is to scope the evidence base on apps that were developed in response to COVID-19. Methods Following the PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) guidelines for scoping reviews, literature searches were conducted on Google Search, Google Scholar, and PubMed using the country’s name as keywords and “coronavirus,” “COVID-19,” “nCOV19,” “contact tracing,” “information providing apps,” “symptom tracking,” “mobile apps,” “mobile applications,” “smartphone,” “mobile phone,” and “mHealth.” Countries most affected by COVID-19 and those that first rolled out COVID-19–related apps were included. Results A total of 46 articles were reviewed from 19 countries, resulting in a total of 29 apps. Among them, 15 (52%) apps were on contact tracing, 7 (24%) apps on quarantine, 7 (24%) on symptom monitoring, and 1 (3%) on information provision. More than half (n=20, 69%) were from governmental sources, only 3 (10%) were from private organizations, and 3 (10%) from universities. There were 6 (21%) apps available on either Android or iOS, and 10 (34%) were available on both platforms. Bluetooth was used in 10 (34%) apps for collecting data, 12 (41%) apps used GPS, and 12 (41%) used other forms of data collection. Conclusions This review identifies that the majority of COVID-19 apps were for contact tracing and symptom monitoring. However, these apps are effective only if taken up by the community. The sharing of good practices across different countries can enable governments to learn from each other and develop effective strategies to combat and manage this pandemic.
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Lee, Bohee, Siti Aishah Ibrahim, and Tiying Zhang. "Mobile Apps Leveraged in the COVID-19 Pandemic in East and South-East Asia: Review and Content Analysis." JMIR mHealth and uHealth 9, no. 11 (November 11, 2021): e32093. http://dx.doi.org/10.2196/32093.
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Background The COVID-19 pandemic increased attention to digital tools to support governmental public health policies in East and South-East Asia. Mobile apps related to the COVID-19 pandemic continue to emerge and evolve with a wide variety of characteristics and functions. However, there is a paucity of studies evaluating such apps in this region, with most of the available studies conducted in the early days of the pandemic. Objective This study aimed to examine free apps developed or supported by governments in the East and South-East Asian region and highlight their key characteristics and functions. We also sought to interpret how the release dates of these apps were related to the commencement dates of other COVID-19 public health policies. Methods We systematically searched for apps in Apple App Store and Google Play Store and analyzed the contents of eligible apps. Mobile apps released or updated with COVID-19–related functions between March 1 and May 7, 2021, in Singapore, Taiwan, South Korea, China (mainland), Japan, Thailand, Hong Kong, Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia, and the Philippines were included. The CoronaNet Research Project database was also examined to determine the timeline of public health policy commencement dates in relation to the release dates of the included apps. We assessed each app’s official website, media reports, and literature through content analysis. Descriptive statistics were used to summarize relevant information gathered from the mobile apps using RStudio. Results Of the 1943 mobile apps initially identified, 46 were eligible, with almost 70% of the apps being intended for the general public. Most apps were from Vietnam (n=9, 20%), followed by Malaysia, Singapore, and Thailand (n=6 each, 13%). Of note, most apps for quarantine monitoring (n=6, 13%) were mandatory for the target users or a population subset. The most common function was health monitoring (32/46, 70%), followed by raising public health awareness (19/46, 41%) through education and information dissemination. Other functions included monitoring quarantine (12/46, 26%), providing health resources (12/46, 26%). COVID-19 vaccination management functions began to appear in parallel with vaccine rollout (7/46, 15%). Regarding the timing of the introduction of mobile solutions, the majority of mobile apps emerged close to the commencement dates of other public health policies in the early stages of the pandemic between March and April 2020. Conclusions In East and South-East Asia, most governments used mobile health apps as adjuncts to public health measures for tracking COVID-19 cases and delivering credible information. In addition, these apps have evolved by expanding their functions for COVID-19 vaccination.
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Trnka, Susanna Helen. "Digital Care: Agency and Temporality in Young People’s Use of Health Apps." Engaging Science, Technology, and Society 2 (December 4, 2016): 248. http://dx.doi.org/10.17351/ests2016.119.
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This paper draws from interviews with 21 young New Zealanders, ages 16-24, to examine how health apps shape young people’s experiences of themselves as agentive subjects in relation to their physical and mental wellbeing. Focusing on the intended and unintended effects of health apps, I examine how digital care technologies recast the spatiality and temporality of healthcare, enabling new ways of constituting and tracking health, expanding possibilities of interactive exchanges with others, and redistributing a sense of agency and control. In many ways, the forms of self-governance that health apps engender are no different from other moves to promote increased self-responsibility that are cultivated as part of advanced liberalism. However, I argue that by collapsing the spatial and temporal relations of technology use, health apps not only heighten opportunities for adopting self-responsibility, but also, as many young people attest, promote the feeling that there is no escaping from them. The result is that for many young people having a sense of control and responsibility over their health comes to be calibrated against not only the inherent inter-sociality of care (i.e. young people’s desires to both give and receive care to and from others), but also the health and fitness “demands” seemingly made upon them by technology itself.
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Alzahrani, Adel, Valerie Gay, and Ryan Alturki. "Exploring Saudi Individuals’ Perspectives and Needs to Design a Hypertension Management Mobile Technology Solution: Qualitative Study." International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 19, no. 19 (October 10, 2022): 12956. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijerph191912956.
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Hypertension is a chronic condition caused by a poor lifestyle that affects patients’ lives. Adherence to self-management programs increases hypertension self-monitoring, and allows greater prevention and disease management. Patient compliance with hypertension self-management is low in general; therefore, mobile health applications (mHealth-Apps) are becoming a daily necessity and provide opportunities to improve the prevention and treatment of chronic diseases, including hypertension. This research aims to explore Saudi individuals’ perspectives and needs regarding designing a hypertension management mobile app to be used by hypertension patients to better manage their illnesses. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 21 Saudi participants to explore their perspectives and views about the needs and requirements in designing a hypertension mobile technology solution, as well as usability and culture in the Saudi context. The study used NVivo to analyze data and divided the themes into four main themes: the app’s perceived health benefits, features and usability, suggestions for the app’s content, and security and privacy. The results showed that there are many suggestions for improvements in mobile health apps that developers should take into consideration when designing apps. The mobile health apps should include physical activity tracking, related diet information, and reminders, which are promising, and could increase adherence to healthy lifestyles and consequently improve the self-management of hypertension patients. Mobile health apps provide opportunities to improve hypertension patients’ self-management and self-monitoring. However, this study asserts that mobile health apps should not share users’ data, and that adequate privacy disclosures should be implemented.
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Song, Yuqing, and Hong Chen. "Evaluating Chinese Mobile Health Apps for Ankylosing Spondylitis Management: Systematic App Search." JMIR mHealth and uHealth 9, no. 7 (July 14, 2021): e27234. http://dx.doi.org/10.2196/27234.
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Background Patients with ankylosing spondylitis (AS), a chronic systematic inflammatory disease, require long-term treatment and management. Mobile health (mHealth) apps can deliver health services through mobile devices, facilitate long-term disease management, support patient–health care provider communication, and enable patients to engage in disease management. There are some apps targeted at patients with AS, but the feature and quality of these apps have not been systematically examined. Objective The aim of this study was to identify existing, publicly available Chinese mHealth apps for AS management and to evaluate their features and quality. Methods We systematically searched potential apps for AS management on the Apple and Huawei App Stores, using 4 search terms: ankylosing spondylitis, spondyloarthritis, rheumatic disease, and arthritis. Apps were included if they were in the Chinese language, targeted at patients with AS, could be downloaded and run on Android and/or iOS operating systems, and incorporated elements of disease management and/or patient education. We excluded apps that were not for patient use, not relevant to AS, or had not been updated since 2018. Apps that met the inclusion criteria were downloaded for final analysis. We formulated a list of app quality measures from and consistent with international guidelines for mHealth apps and AS management to evaluate the features and quality of the included app. The user version of the Mobile App Rating Scale (uMARS) was also used to rate the apps’ quality. Results Of the 354 apps screened, 5 met the inclusion criteria and were included in our analysis. All apps were free, and most apps (4/5, 80%) had a privacy policy. Of the 5 apps, 1 (20%) involved medical professionals in the development process, 2 (40%) were developed by companies, and 2 (40%) were developed by medical institutions. All apps provided educational information about AS. Around half of the apps had functions like a basic information record (ie, users can input gender, age, disease history, etc) (n=3, 60%), patient–health care provider (and patient-patient) communication (n=2, 40%), symptom tracking (n=2, 40%), and information sharing (n=3, 60%). Only 1 (20%) app provided comprehensive functions that adhered to international guidelines for AS management and mHealth apps. The overall uMARS scores ranged from 2.7 to 4.2; only 1 app, with an overall uMARS score of 4.2, was considered as a high-quality app. Conclusions Most apps lacked comprehensive functions for AS management. One high-quality app provided comprehensive functions to help patients manage their conditions. This study assessed and summarized the features and quality of the apps but did not evaluate their efficacy. Future studies should evaluate the feasibility and efficacy of these apps. International guidelines and regulations for the design, development, validation, and implementation of mHealth apps are needed in the future. Meanwhile, health care providers, patients with AS, and app developers should collaborate to develop high-quality, evidence-based apps that take into account patients’ needs and health care professionals’ perspectives.
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Figl, Kathrin, Christiane Lehrer, and Jule Helder. "App-Device Fit Matters: Understanding User Perceptions of Apps on Smartwatches and Smartphones." Journal of Service Management Research 7, no. 2 (2023): 82–98. http://dx.doi.org/10.5771/2511-8676-2023-2-82.
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The smartwatch market is rapidly expanding, with a diverse range of apps now available to users. This study examines users’ perceptions and attitudes toward apps on smartwatches and smartphones. Our experiment revealed that users did not generally perceive apps and the information they provide as more credible, timely, or of higher quality on smartwatches than on smartphones. Instead, the study identified app-device fit as the key factor that influences users’ perceptions. For apps that fit particularly well with smartwatches, such as body-related apps for health and sleep tracking, users rated app credibility, timeliness of data, information quality, and their overall attitude towards using the app higher on the specialized device (i.e., smartwatch) than on smartphones. However, no significant differences were found for sports-related domains, such as hiking and surfing. To optimize user experience, app developers should carefully consider the fit between the app and the device.
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Drissi, Nidal, Ayat Alhmoudi, Hana Al Nuaimi, Mahra Alkhyeli, Shaikha Alsalami, and Sofia Ouhbi. "Investigating the Impact of COVID-19 Lockdown on the Psychological Health of University Students and Their Attitudes Toward Mobile Mental Health Solutions: Two-Part Questionnaire Study." JMIR Formative Research 4, no. 10 (October 20, 2020): e19876. http://dx.doi.org/10.2196/19876.
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Background The COVID-19 outbreak was first reported to the World Health Organization on December 31, 2019, and it was officially declared a public health emergency of international concern on January 30, 2020. The COVID-19 outbreak and the safety measures taken to control it caused many psychological issues in populations worldwide, such as depression, anxiety, and stress. Objective The objectives of this study were to assess the psychological effects of the lockdown due to the COVID-19 outbreak on university students in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and to investigate the students’ awareness of mobile mental health care apps as well as their attitudes toward the use of these apps. Methods A two-part self-administered web-based questionnaire was delivered to students at United Arab Emirates University. The first part of the questionnaire assessed the mental state of the participants using the 12-item General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12), while the second part contained questions investigating the participants’ awareness of and attitudes toward mental health care apps. Students were invited to fill out the web-based questionnaire via social media and mailing lists. Results A total of 154 students participated in the survey, and the majority were female. The results of the GHQ-12 analysis showed that the students were experiencing psychological issues related to depression and anxiety as well as social dysfunction. The results also revealed a lack of awareness of mental health care apps and uncertainty regarding the use of such apps. Approximately one-third of the participants (44/154, 28.6%) suggested preferred functionalities and characteristics of mobile mental health care apps, such as affordable price, simple design, ease of use, web-based therapy, communication with others experiencing the same issues, and tracking of mental status. Conclusions Like many groups of people worldwide, university students in the UAE were psychologically affected by the lockdown due to the COVID-19 outbreak. Although apps can be useful tools for mental health care delivery, especially in circumstances such as those produced by the outbreak, the students in this study showed a lack of awareness of these apps and mixed attitudes toward them. Improving the digital health literacy of university students in the UAE by increasing their awareness of mental health care apps and the treatment methods and benefits of the apps, as well as involving students in the app creation process, may encourage students to use these tools for mental health care.