Abstract 13206: Blood Pressure Apps: Do They Educate the Lay Public About Risk Factors?

Circulation ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 142 (Suppl_3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Arunima Vijay ◽  
Gloria Wu
Keyword(s):  
Risk Factors ◽  
Blood Pressure ◽  
Mobile Health ◽  
Health Apps ◽  
Hypertension Risk ◽  
Apple Ios ◽  
Mobile Health Apps ◽  
Google Play ◽  
Lay Public ◽  
Mood Depression

Introduction: Hypertension affects 108 million Americans. To help track and manage hypertension, there are many free and popular mobile health apps that track BP. Hypothesis: BP tracking mobile health apps have many downloads but do not fully educate the public about hypertension risk factors. Methods: “Blood Pressure” as a search term was used in the Google Play and Apple iOS stores to identify the most popular, free BP tracking apps aimed at the lay public. The top 10 most popular, free apps on each store were evaluated for educating the lay public on hypertension risk factors. Inclusion criteria: top 10 free blood pressure (BP) apps, by highest number of downloads on Google Play and highest rating (out of five stars) on Apple iOS Store (no available data on iOS downloads). Exclusion criteria: non-English, requiring a wearable device, primary purpose other BP tracking. Results: Of top 20 apps: BP log: 19/20, BP ranges: 13/20, height: 5/20, weight: 8/20, BMI: 3/20, race: 1/20, gender: 4/20, age: 6/20, diet: 1/20, exercise: 1/20, medication: 4/20, diabetes: 1/20, FBS: 1/20, goals: 3/20, mood/depression: 1/20. 2 apps mentioned the American Heart Association (AHA). None of the apps had information on cvriskcalculator.com, family history, cholesterol, LDL, triglycerides, HbA1c, and alcohol use. Conclusion: Most free and popular BP apps monitor BP but largely ignore hypertension risk factors such as cholesterol, LDL, triglycerides, alcohol intake, mood/depression, race, and gender. Furthermore, 7/20 apps do not uniformly educate patients that a normal BP is <120/<80, in accordance with the AHA and ACC guidelines. More collaboration may be needed between physicians and software developers to educate and meet the needs of our hypertensive patients in America.

scholarly journals Mobile Health Apps for Medical Emergencies: Systematic Review

10.2196/18513 ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (12) ◽  
pp. e18513
Author(s):  
Alejandro Plaza Roncero ◽  
Gonçalo Marques ◽  
Beatriz Sainz-De-Abajo ◽  
Francisco Martín-Rodríguez ◽  
Carlos del Pozo Vegas ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Mobile Health ◽  
Mobile Apps ◽  
Current Status ◽  
Health Technologies ◽  
Health Apps ◽  
App Store ◽  
Mobile Health Apps ◽  
Medical Emergencies ◽  
Google Play

Background Mobile health apps are used to improve the quality of health care. These apps are changing the current scenario in health care, and their numbers are increasing. Objective We wanted to perform an analysis of the current status of mobile health technologies and apps for medical emergencies. We aimed to synthesize the existing body of knowledge to provide relevant insights for this topic. Moreover, we wanted to identify common threads and gaps to support new challenging, interesting, and relevant research directions. Methods We reviewed the main relevant papers and apps available in the literature. The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) methodology was used in this review. The search criteria were adopted using systematic methods to select papers and apps. On one hand, a bibliographic review was carried out in different search databases to collect papers related to each application in the health emergency field using defined criteria. On the other hand, a review of mobile apps in two virtual storage platforms (Google Play Store and Apple App Store) was carried out. The Google Play Store and Apple App Store are related to the Android and iOS operating systems, respectively. Results In the literature review, 28 papers in the field of medical emergency were included. These studies were collected and selected according to established criteria. Moreover, we proposed a taxonomy using six groups of applications. In total, 324 mobile apps were found, with 192 identified in the Google Play Store and 132 identified in the Apple App Store. Conclusions We found that all apps in the Google Play Store were free, and 73 apps in the Apple App Store were paid, with the price ranging from US $0.89 to US $5.99. Moreover, 39% (11/28) of the included studies were related to warning systems for emergency services and 21% (6/28) were associated with disaster management apps.

scholarly journals Comprehensively Addressing Postpartum Maternal Health: a Content and Image Review of Commercially Available Mobile Health Apps

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laura Tucker ◽  
Alan Cuevas Villagomez ◽  
Tamar Krishnamurti
Keyword(s):  
Maternal Health ◽  
Health Information ◽  
Mobile Health ◽  
Rating Scale ◽  
The United States ◽  
Quality Score ◽  
People Of Color ◽  
Health Apps ◽  
Mobile Health Apps ◽  
Google Play

Abstract Background: The United States is currently facing a maternal morbidity and mortality crisis, with the highest rates of any resource-rich nation. In efforts to address this, new guidelines for postpartum care suggest that mobile health apps can help provide complementary clinical support for new mothers during the postpartum period. However, to date no study has evaluated existing mobile health tools targeted to this time period for sufficiency of maternal health information, inclusivity of people of color, or accessibility to users.Methods: Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) standards were used to review the peripartum apps from the Apple and Google Play stores in either the Health/Fitness, Medical, or Education categories. Apps were then evaluated for extent and quality of maternal health information, inclusivity of people of color, and accessibility to app users.Results: Of the 301 apps from the Apple and Google Play stores, 25 met criteria for final evaluation. Of the 30 maternal health topics coded for, the median number addressed by apps was 19.5 (65%). Peripartum behaviors were more frequently addressed than peripartum outpatient care topics and peripartum acute health risks. The amount of maternal health information correlated positively with the Mobile Application Rating Scale (MARS) quality score of the app, and inclusivity of people of color in app imagery also correlated positively with the MARS quality score. Only 8 apps (32%) portrayed greater than 24% images of people of color- the percent of non-white Americans according to 2019 census estimates. There was no correlation between number of users as estimated by number of store ratings and MARS quality. In addition, apps with clinical authority had greater MARS engagement, information, aesthetics, and quality scores, but did not have greater numbers of store ratings.Conclusions: Current commercially available peripartum apps overall do not provide adequate maternal health information, are not inclusive of women of color, and are not optimally accessible to the target users. Apps authored with clinical authority and higher-quality apps, by MARS score, are more likely to meet these standards, but are not more likely to be downloaded and used.

scholarly journals The Use of Health IT for Chronic Disease Management: A comprehensive review of diabetes applications used for self-management of the disease (Preprint)

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lorrin Robinson ◽  
Jamesa Hogges ◽  
Ingrid Brown ◽  
Kennedy Craig ◽  
Akasha Lawrence ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Chronic Disease ◽  
Disease Management ◽  
Mobile Health ◽  
Chronic Disease Management ◽  
The Self ◽  
Self Management ◽  
Consumer Reviews ◽  
Health Apps ◽  
Apple Ios ◽  
Mobile Health Apps

BACKGROUND Mobile health (mHealth) smartphone applications (apps) have shown promise in the self-management of chronic disease. Management of key disease variances can be performed through these applications to increase patient engagement in disease self-management. In today’s oversaturated health app market, what selection criteria do consumers employ to choose mobile health apps for disease self-management? App quality is critical in monitoring disease controls but is often linked to consumer popularity rather clinical recommendations of effectiveness in disease management. This paper provides a comprehensive review of features found in mobile health apps frequently used in the self-management of diabetes. OBJECTIVE The objective of this study was to review features of frequently used and high consumer-rated mobile health apps used in the self-management of diabetes within the Apple iOS store. These applications were cross-referenced against high consumer-rated health apps found in other online diabetes sources. This study aimed to highlight key features of consumer-favored mobile health apps used in the self-management of diabetes. METHODS A primary Apple iOS store search was conducted using the term “diabetes apps” on an Apple iPad. The top five most frequently used mobile health apps were identified and rated by the number of consumer reviews, application ratings, and the presence of key diabetes management features: dietary blood glucose, A1C, insulin, physical activity and prescription medication. A subsequent Google search was conducted using the search term “best Apple diabetes apps”. The top three search results – Healthline, Everyday Health, and Diabetes Apps, American Diabetes Association – were explored. The top five frequently used apps among those sources were examined against the same Apple iOS criteria. RESULTS Twelve mobile health apps were reviewed in total due to repetition in popularity across the four evaluated sources. Only one health app – Glucose Buddy Diabetes Tracker – appeared most frequently used within the Apple iOS store and across the other three sources. The OneTouch Reveal app ranked first on the list in the iOS store with 39,000 consumer reviews and a rating of 4.7 out of 5.0 stars while only appearing once among the other sources. Blood glucose tracking was evident across all apps, but other disease management features varied in type with at least three of the five key features being present across the 12 reviewed apps. Subscription costs and integration needs were present which could play a major role in consumer app selection. While mobile app preference was assessed and defined by the number of consumer reviews and star ratings, there were no scientific standards used in the selection and ranking of the health apps within this study. CONCLUSIONS Mobile health applications (apps) have shown promise in chronic disease management, but a surge in development of these non-regulated health solutions points to a need for standards in quality. A governing body of health information technology, clinical, policymaking, and other industry stakeholders, including patients, could be beneficial in defining health application standards for effective chronic disease management. Variabilities in features, cost, and other management inconsistencies could be diminished by regulatory uniformity and increase both patient engagement activities and disease outcomes.

scholarly journals Mobile Health Apps for Medical Emergencies: Systematic Review (Preprint)

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alejandro Plaza Roncero ◽  
Gonçalo Marques ◽  
Beatriz Sainz-De-Abajo ◽  
Francisco Martín-Rodríguez ◽  
Carlos del Pozo Vegas ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Mobile Health ◽  
Mobile Apps ◽  
Current Status ◽  
Health Technologies ◽  
Health Apps ◽  
App Store ◽  
Mobile Health Apps ◽  
Medical Emergencies ◽  
Google Play

BACKGROUND Mobile health apps are used to improve the quality of health care. These apps are changing the current scenario in health care, and their numbers are increasing. OBJECTIVE We wanted to perform an analysis of the current status of mobile health technologies and apps for medical emergencies. We aimed to synthesize the existing body of knowledge to provide relevant insights for this topic. Moreover, we wanted to identify common threads and gaps to support new challenging, interesting, and relevant research directions. METHODS We reviewed the main relevant papers and apps available in the literature. The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) methodology was used in this review. The search criteria were adopted using systematic methods to select papers and apps. On one hand, a bibliographic review was carried out in different search databases to collect papers related to each application in the health emergency field using defined criteria. On the other hand, a review of mobile apps in two virtual storage platforms (Google Play Store and Apple App Store) was carried out. The Google Play Store and Apple App Store are related to the Android and iOS operating systems, respectively. RESULTS In the literature review, 28 papers in the field of medical emergency were included. These studies were collected and selected according to established criteria. Moreover, we proposed a taxonomy using six groups of applications. In total, 324 mobile apps were found, with 192 identified in the Google Play Store and 132 identified in the Apple App Store. CONCLUSIONS We found that all apps in the Google Play Store were free, and 73 apps in the Apple App Store were paid, with the price ranging from US $0.89 to US $5.99. Moreover, 39% (11/28) of the included studies were related to warning systems for emergency services and 21% (6/28) were associated with disaster management apps.

Abstract 13041: Stroke Mobile Apps: What About "FAST" and Other Risk Factors?

Circulation ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 142 (Suppl_3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Gloria Wu ◽  
Binita S Pandya ◽  
harleen bhatti ◽  
Arunima Vijay
Keyword(s):  
Risk Factors ◽  
Mobile Health ◽  
Vision Loss ◽  
Mobile Apps ◽  
Public Awareness ◽  
Warning Signs ◽  
Search Term ◽  
Major Health Problem ◽  
Health Apps ◽  
Mobile Health Apps

Do Stroke Apps Include FAST? Background: There are 325,000 mobile health apps, with 3.7 billion downloads annually. Stroke is a major health problem in America, affecting 795,000 annually. Yet, 1 in 3 Americans cannot name the stroke warning signs. Hypothesis: Mobile health apps that mention stroke fail to include FAST criteria and fail to provide information about stroke risk factors. Methods: “Stroke” was used as a search term for iOs and Droid apps. We evaluated free apps, and Stroke warning signs,(F=face droop, A= arm weakness, S=speech, T= call 911, FAST). We looked for risk factors such as Cholesterol (Chol), fasting blood sugar (FBS), smoking, hypertension (HTN), atrial fibrillation (AF), ethnicity, gender, and age. Results: We found 500 apps that mentioned stroke, of those, only 7 apps specifically list the FAST criteria. The number of apps mentioning key risk factors are listed: Chol: 3/8, FBS 2/8, Smoking 4/8, HTN 5/8, Vision Loss 6/8, Gender 4/8, Ethnicity:2/8, Afib 3/8. Only 1 app mentioned heart.org, and none mentioned Stroke.org or “cvriskcalculator.” Conclusion: Only a small proportion of mobile apps mentioning stroke list the FAST criteria, possibly delaying patients and families from taking appropriate rapid action. Apps also need to have more information about important risk factors for stroke. Improved visibility of these apps is needed to increase public awareness of Stroke. References:Research2Guidance. 325000 mobile health apps available in 2017.https://research2guidance.com/325000-mobile-health-apps-available-in-2017/. Accessed May 17, 2020.

scholarly journals Comprehensively addressing postpartum maternal health: A content and image review of commercially available mobile health apps

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laura Tucker ◽  
Alan Cuevas Villagomez ◽  
Tamar Krishnamurti
Keyword(s):  
Maternal Health ◽  
Health Information ◽  
Mobile Health ◽  
Rating Scale ◽  
The United States ◽  
Quality Score ◽  
People Of Color ◽  
Health Apps ◽  
Mobile Health Apps ◽  
Google Play

Abstract Background: The United States is currently facing a maternal morbidity and mortality crisis, with the highest rates of any resource-rich nation. In efforts to address this, new guidelines for postpartum care suggest that mobile health apps can help provide complementary clinical support for new mothers during the postpartum period. However, to date no study has evaluated existing mobile health tools targeted to this time period for sufficiency of maternal health information, inclusivity of people of color, or accessibility to users.Methods: Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) standards were used to review the peripartum apps from the Apple and Google Play stores in either the Health/Fitness, Medical, or Education categories. Apps were then evaluated for extent and quality of maternal health information, inclusivity of people of color, and accessibility to app users.Results: Of the 301 apps from the Apple and Google Play stores, 25 met criteria for final evaluation. Of the 30 maternal health topics coded for, the median number addressed by apps was 19.5 (65%). Peripartum behaviors were more frequently addressed than peripartum outpatient care topics and peripartum acute health risks. The amount of maternal health information correlated positively with the Mobile Application Rating Scale (MARS) quality score of the app, and inclusivity of people of color in app imagery also correlated positively with the MARS quality score. Only 8 apps (32%) portrayed greater than 24% images of people of color- the percent of non-white Americans according to 2019 census estimates. There was no correlation between number of users as estimated by number of store ratings and MARS quality. In addition, apps with clinical authority had greater MARS engagement, information, aesthetics, and quality scores, but did not have greater numbers of store ratings.Conclusions: Current commercially available peripartum apps overall do not provide adequate maternal health information, are not inclusive of women of color, and are not optimally accessible to the target users. Apps authored with clinical authority and higher-quality apps, by MARS score, are more likely to meet these standards, but are not more likely to be downloaded and used.

scholarly journals PNS187 US NATIONAL TRENDS OF MOBILE HEALTH APPS USE IN 2014 AND 2018

2019 ◽  
Vol 22 ◽  
pp. S317
Author(s):  
X. Feng ◽  
T. Lavelle ◽  
P.J. Lin
Keyword(s):  
Mobile Health ◽  
Health Apps ◽  
Mobile Health Apps ◽  
National Trends

scholarly journals Patient-Centric Structural Determinants of Adherence Rates Among Asthma Populations: Exploring the Potential of Patient Activation and Encouragement Tool TRUSTR to Improve Adherence

2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Asim Zia ◽  
Arthur Brassart ◽  
Sheila Thomas ◽  
Fen Ye ◽  
Judith Stephenson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Clinical Data ◽  
Mobile Health ◽  
Medical Condition ◽  
Total Effect ◽  
Adherence Rate ◽  
Administrative Claims ◽  
Structural Determinants ◽  
Health Apps ◽  
Mobile Health Apps ◽  
Patient Centric

Background: Lack of adherence with prescribed medications among the asthma populations exacerbates health outcomes and increases social and economic costs. Objectives: The proposed study aims to model patient-centric structural determinants of adherence rates among asthma patients and explore the potential of mobile health apps such as the TRUSTR platform to improve adherence using its power of monetary and non-monetary chatbotting and non-monetary nudges. Following specific hypotheses are tested: (1) Patient attributes, such as their age and medical condition, have significant effect on their adherence with the prescribed treatment plans. (2) Behavioral nudging with rewards and engagement via mobile health apps will increase adherence rates. Methods: The patient population (N= 37 359) consists of commercially insured patients with asthma who have been identified from administrative claims in the HealthCore Integrated Research Database (HIRD) between April 1, 2018 and March 31, 2019. Two Structural Equation Models (SEMs) are estimated to quantify direct, indirect and total effect sizes of age and medical condition on proportion of days covered (PDC) and medical possession ratio (MPR), mediated by patient medical and pharmacy visits. Fourteen additional SEMs were estimated to lateralize TRUSTR findings and conduct sensitivity analysis. Results: HIRD data reveal mean adherence rate of 59% (standard deviation (SD) 29%) for PDC and 58% for MPR (SD 36%). Key structural findings from SEMs derived from the HIRD dataset indicate that each additional year in the age of the patient has a positive total effect on the adherence rate. Patients with poor medical condition are likely to have lower adherence rate, but this direct effect is countered by mediating variables. Further, each additional reward and higher engagement with a mobile app is likely to have a positive total effect on increasing the adherence rate. Conclusions: HIRD data reveal mean adherence rate of 59% (SD 29%), providing the evidence for the opportunity to increase adherence rate by around 40%. Statistical modeling results reveal structural determinants, such as the opportunity to nudge, are higher among younger patients, as they have higher probability of being non-adherent. Methodologically, lateralization approach demonstrates the potential to capture real-world evidence beyond clinical data and merge it with clinical data.

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