Dot the I’s and Cross the T’s: Comment on “A Systematic Review of Mobile Health Applications in Rehabilitation”

2019 ◽  
Vol 100 (4) ◽  
pp. 782
Author(s):  
Giorgio Ferriero ◽  
Francesco Sartorio ◽  
Stefano Vercelli
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Review ◽  
Mobile Health ◽  
Mobile Health Applications ◽  
Health Applications

The Functionality, Quality and Consistency with International Guidelines of Asthma Mobile Health Applications: Protocol for a Systematic Review. (Preprint)

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Billy Robinson ◽  
Enying Gong ◽  
Brian Oldenburg ◽  
Katharine See
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Review ◽  
Mobile Health ◽  
Airflow Limitation ◽  
Significant Variable ◽  
Assessment Framework ◽  
Mobile Health Applications ◽  
Gina Guidelines ◽  
Mhealth Apps ◽  
Health Applications

BACKGROUND Asthma is a chronic respiratory disorder defined clinically as a combination of typical respiratory symptoms, and significant variable reversible airflow limitation. In addition to pharmacotherapy, a key aspect of asthma management is empowering patients to manage their condition and recognise and respond to asthma exacerbations. Mobile health applications (mHealth apps) represent a potential medium through which patients could improve the ability to self-manage their asthma. Few studies have conducted a systematic evaluation of both free and paid asthma mobile applications for the quality and functionality of the apps using a validated tool and to our knowledge none have systematically assessed these applications for the quality of information that they provide compared to available international best practice guidelines. This represents the first study that will undertake both of these evaluations for all available mHealth Apps in Australia targeted towards adult asthmatics. The Global Initiative for Asthma (GINA) guidelines represent a regularly updated guideline based on reviews of the available scientific literature by an international panel of experts. This review will examine the functionality and quality of available asthma mobile health applications and the consistency of these available applications with recommendations from the GINA guidelines. OBJECTIVE The objective of this study is to conduct a systematic review of adult-targeted asthma mobile health applications on the Australian market. As part of this review the potential for an mHealth app to improve asthma self-management and the overall quality of the application will be evaluated, using the Mobile App Rating Scale (MARS) framework, and the quality of the information within an app, using the current GINA guidelines as a reference, will be assessed. METHODS A methodological stepwise approach was taken in creating this review. First the most recent GINA guidelines were independently reviewed by two authors to identify key recommendations that could feasibly be incorporated into a mHealth app. These identified recommendations were then compared to a previously developed asthma application assessment framework. A modified assessment framework was created, ensuring all of these identified recommendations were included. Two popular App stores were then reviewed to identify potential mHealth Apps and then a screening process based on pre-defined inclusion and exclusion criteria occurred to establish what mHealth Apps would be evaluated. Application evaluation then occurred. Technical information was obtained from publicly available information on the application store or within the app itself. The next step was to perform an application quality assessment using the validated MARS framework to objectively determine the quality of the application. Application functionality was then assessed using the IMS Institute for Health Informatics Functionality Scoring system. Finally, the mHealth applications will be assessed using a checklist that we have developed based on what was identified from the international GINA guidelines. RESULTS To date, funding has been received for the project from the Respiratory Department at Northern Health, Victoria. Three reviewers have been recruited to systematically evaluate the applications. Results for this study are expected by the end of this year. CONCLUSIONS Nil as protocol CLINICALTRIAL PROSPERO 269894

scholarly journals Patient Self-Management of Asthma Using Mobile Health Applications: A Systematic Review of the Functionalities and Effects

2017 ◽  
Vol 08 (04) ◽  
pp. 1068-1081 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mehrdad Farzandipour ◽  
Ehsan Nabovati ◽  
Reihane Sharif ◽  
Marzieh Arani ◽  
Shima Anvari
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Systematic Review ◽  
Mobile Health ◽  
Self Management ◽  
Cochrane Central Register ◽  
Patient Reported ◽  
Mobile Health Applications ◽  
Mhealth Apps ◽  
Health Applications

Objective The aim of this systematic review was to summarize the evidence regarding the effects of mobile health applications (mHealth apps) for self-management outcomes in patients with asthma and to assess the functionalities of effective interventions. Methods We systematically searched Medline, Scopus, and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials. We included English-language studies that evaluated the effects of smartphone or tablet computer apps on self-management outcomes in asthmatic patients. The characteristics of these studies, effects of interventions, and features of mHealth apps were extracted. Results A total of 10 studies met all the inclusion criteria. Outcomes that were assessed in the included studies were categorized into three groups (clinical, patient-reported, and economic). mHealth apps improved asthma control (five studies) and lung function (two studies) from the clinical outcomes. From the patient-reported outcomes, quality of life (three studies) was statistically significantly improved, while there was no significant impact on self-efficacy scores (two studies). Effects on economic outcomes were equivocal, so that the number of visits (in two studies) and admission and hospitalization-relevant outcomes (in one study) statistically significantly improved; and in four other studies, these outcomes did not improve significantly. mHealth apps features were categorized into seven categories (inform, instruct, record, display, guide, remind/alert, and communicate). Eight of the 10 mHealth apps included more than one functionality. Nearly all interventions had the functionality of recording user-entered data and half of them had the functionality of providing educational information and reminders to patients. Conclusion Multifunctional mHealth apps have good potential in the control of asthma and in improving the quality of life in such patients compared with traditional interventions. Further studies are needed to identify the effectiveness of these interventions on outcomes related to medication adherence and costs.

scholarly journals Using Mobile Applications to Increase Physical Activity: A Systematic Review

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (21) ◽  
pp. 8238
Author(s):  
Laura Pradal-Cano ◽  
Carolina Lozano-Ruiz ◽  
José Juan Pereyra-Rodríguez ◽  
Francesc Saigí-Rubió ◽  
Anna Bach-Faig ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Physical Activity ◽  
Systematic Review ◽  
Mobile Health ◽  
Mobile Applications ◽  
Dietary Behaviour ◽  
Cochrane Library ◽  
Full Text Review ◽  
Mobile Health Applications ◽  
Bibliographic Search ◽  
Health Applications

Unhealthy diet and physical inactivity—major risk factors for the main non-communicable diseases—can be addressed by mobile health applications. Using an evidence-based systematic review design, we analysed studies on mobile applications to foster physical activity to determine whether they met the objective of increasing adults’ physical activity. A bibliographic search was conducted in October 2020 using PubMed, Cochrane Library Plus, Biomed Central, Psychology Database, and SpringerLink, retrieving 191 articles. After titles and abstracts were reviewed, 149 articles were excluded, leaving 42 articles for a full-text review, of which 14 met the inclusion criteria. Despite differences in study duration, design, and variables, 13 of the 14 studies reported that applications were effective in increasing physical activity and healthy habits as dietary behaviour. However, further longer-term studies with larger samples are needed to confirm the effectiveness of mobile health applications in increasing physical activity.

Systematic Review of Mobile Health Applications in Rehabilitation

2019 ◽  
Vol 100 (1) ◽  
pp. 115-127 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ryan Nussbaum ◽  
Christopher Kelly ◽  
Eleanor Quinby ◽  
Ami Mac ◽  
Bambang Parmanto ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Review ◽  
Mobile Health ◽  
Mobile Health Applications ◽  
Health Applications

The Functionality, Quality and Consistency with International Guidelines of Asthma Mobile Health Applications: Protocol for a Systematic Review. (Preprint)

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Billy Robinson ◽  
Enying Gong ◽  
Brian Oldenburg ◽  
Katharine See
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Review ◽  
Mobile Health ◽  
Best Practice ◽  
Self Management ◽  
Best Practice Guidelines ◽  
Mobile Health Applications ◽  
Gina Guidelines ◽  
Mhealth Apps ◽  
Health Applications

BACKGROUND Asthma is a chronic respiratory disorder which requires long-term pharmacotherapy and patient empowerment to manage their condition and recognise and respond to asthma exacerbations. Mobile health applications (mHealth apps) represent a potential medium through which patients could improve the ability to self-manage their asthma. Few studies have conducted a systematic evaluation of asthma mobile applications for the quality and functionality of the apps using a validated tool. None of these reviews have systematically assessed these applications for their content compared to available international best practice guidelines. OBJECTIVE The objective of this study is to conduct a systematic review of adult-targeted asthma mobile health applications. As part of this review the potential for an mHealth app to improve asthma self-management and the overall quality of the application will be evaluated, using the Mobile App Rating Scale (MARS) framework, and the quality of the information within an app, using the current Global Initiative for Asthma (GINA) guidelines as a reference, will be assessed. METHODS A methodological stepwise approach was taken in creating this review. First the most recent GINA guidelines were independently reviewed by two authors to identify key recommendations that could feasibly be incorporated into a mHealth app. A previously developed asthma assessment framework was identified and modified to suit our research and ensure all of these identified recommendations were included. Two popular App stores were then reviewed to identify potential mHealth Apps. These Apps were screened based on pre-defined inclusion and exclusion criteria. Suitable applications were then evaluated. Technical information was obtained from publicly available information. The next step was to perform an application quality assessment using the validated MARS framework to objectively determine the quality of the application. Application functionality was then assessed using the IMS Institute for Health Informatics Functionality Scoring system. Finally, the mHealth applications will be assessed using a checklist that we have developed. RESULTS To date, funding has been received for the project from the Respiratory Department at Northern Health, Victoria. Three reviewers have been recruited to systematically evaluate the applications. Results for this study are expected by the end of this year. CONCLUSIONS This review represents the first that we know of that will examine all mobile health applications available in Australia targeted to adult asthmatics for their functionality, quality and consistency with international best practice guidelines. Though the review will only be conducted on mHealth Apps available in Australia, many applications are available internationally and thus should be largely generalisable to other English-speaking regions and users. The results of this review will help to fill gaps in the literature and assist clinicians in providing evidence-based advice to adult patients wishing to use mHealth apps as part of their asthma self-management. CLINICALTRIAL PROSPERO 269894

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