scholarly journals COVID-19 Mobile Apps: A Systematic Review of the Literature

10.2196/23170 ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 22 (12) ◽  
pp. e23170 ◽  
Author(s):  
Haridimos Kondylakis ◽  
Dimitrios G Katehakis ◽  
Angelina Kouroubali ◽  
Fokion Logothetidis ◽  
Andreas Triantafyllidis ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Review ◽  
Mobile Apps ◽  
Real Life ◽  
Home Monitoring ◽  
Contact Tracing ◽  
Bibliographic Databases ◽  
Show Evidence ◽  
Information Tracking ◽  
Credible Information

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.

scholarly journals COVID-19 Mobile Apps: A Systematic Review of the Literature (Preprint)

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Haridimos Kondylakis ◽  
Dimitrios G Katehakis ◽  
Angelina Kouroubali ◽  
Fokion Logothetidis ◽  
Andreas Triantafyllidis ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Review ◽  
Mobile Apps ◽  
Real Life ◽  
Home Monitoring ◽  
Contact Tracing ◽  
Bibliographic Databases ◽  
Show Evidence ◽  
Information Tracking ◽  
Credible Information

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.

Longitudinal outcomes of patients with pseudodementia: a systematic review

2018 ◽  
Vol 49 (5) ◽  
pp. 727-737 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael H. Connors ◽  
Lena Quinto ◽  
Henry Brodaty
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Review ◽  
Significant Proportion ◽  
Conversion Disorder ◽  
Bibliographic Databases ◽  
Clinical Value ◽  
Trial Methodology ◽  
Longitudinal Outcomes ◽  
Increased Risk ◽  
Wide Range

AbstractDepression and a number of other psychiatric conditions can impair cognition and give the appearance of neurodegenerative disease. Collectively, this group of disorders is known as ‘pseudodementia’ and are important to identify given their potential reversibility with treatment. Despite considerable interest historically, the longitudinal outcomes of patients with pseudodementia remain unclear. We conducted a systematic review of longitudinal studies of pseudodementia. Bibliographic databases were searched using a wide range of search terms. Two reviewers independently assessed papers for inclusion, rated study quality, and extracted data. The search identified 18 studies with follow-up varying from several weeks to 18 years. Overall, 284 patients were studied, including 238 patients with depression, 18 with conversion disorder, 14 with psychosis, and 11 with bipolar disorder. Irrespective of diagnosis, 33% developed irreversible dementia at follow-up, 53% no longer met criteria for dementia, and 15% were lost to follow-up. Considerable variability was identified, with younger age at baseline, but not follow-up duration, associated with better outcomes. ECT and pharmacological interventions were also reported to be beneficial, though findings were limited by the poor quality of the studies. Overall, the findings suggest that pseudodementia may confer an increased risk of irreversible dementia in older patients. The findings also indicate, however, that a significant proportion improve, while many remain burdened with their psychiatric condition, independent of organic dementia. The findings support the clinical value of the construct and the need for its re-examination in light of developments in neuroimaging, genomics, other investigative tools, and trial methodology.

scholarly journals A fair efficacy formula for assessing the effectiveness of contact tracing applications

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adam Fowler
Keyword(s):  
Mobile Applications ◽  
Mobile Apps ◽  
Time Windows ◽  
Real Life ◽  
Contact Tracing ◽  
Proximity Detection ◽  
Epidemiological Risk ◽  
Efficacy Measure ◽  
Impact Of Technology ◽  
The Impact

AbstractMobile contact tracing apps have been developed by many countries in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Trials have focussed on unobserved population trials or staged scenarios aimed to simulate real life. No efficacy measure has been developed that assesses the fundamental ability of any proximity detection protocol to accurately detect, measure, and therefore assess the epidemiological risk that a mobile phone owner has been placed at. This paper provides a fair efficacy formula that can be applied to any mobile contact tracing app, using any technology, allowing it’s likely epidemiological effectiveness to be assessed. This paper defines such a formula and provides results for several simulated protocols as well as one real life protocol tested according to the standard methodology set out in this paper. The results presented show that protocols that use time windows greater than 30 seconds or that bucket their distance analogue (E.g. RSSI for Bluetooth) provide poor estimates of risk, showing an efficacy rating of less than 6%. The fair efficacy formula is shown in this paper to be able to be used to calculate the ‘Efficacy of contact tracing’ variable value as used in two papers on using mobile applications for contact tracing [6]. The output from the formulae in this paper, therefore, can be used to directly assess the impact of technology on the spread of a disease outbreak. This formula can be used by nations developing contact tracing applications to assess the efficacy of their applications. This will allow them to reassure their populations and increase the uptake of contact tracing mobile apps, hopefully having an effect on slowing the spread of COVID-19 and future epidemics.

HartWacht telemonitoring effectively reduces blood pressure in a real-life setting

2020 ◽  
Vol 41 (Supplement_2) ◽  
Author(s):  
B.G.S Abeln ◽  
S Blok ◽  
B.J Van Den Born ◽  
G.A Somsen ◽  
I.I Tulevski ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Blood Pressure ◽  
Resistant Hypertension ◽  
Clinical Care ◽  
Blood Pressure Reduction ◽  
Monitoring Program ◽  
Real Life ◽  
Home Monitoring ◽  
Mean Blood Pressure ◽  
Real Life Setting

Abstract Introduction Telemedicine platforms have the potential to reduce costs and improve outcomes in blood pressure reduction. Although results in the literature are promising, evidence remains limited and few home monitoring programs have successfully been integrated into daily clinical practice. The HartWacht home monitoring program is set-up for remote monitoring and treatment of patients with therapy resistant hypertension (systolic blood pressure>140 mmHg and >1 antihypertensive drugs). HartWacht is fully integrated into clinical care and is reimbursed by the majority of Dutch healthcare insurers. Purpose The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of the HartWacht program in blood pressure treatment in a real-life setting, and evaluate the number of interventions necessary to reach normotension. Methods In this single center retrospective cohort study, we included all patients with therapy resistant hypertension that were included in the HartWacht program by their treating physician. At baseline, all patients measure blood pressure twice a day for the duration of one week, after which blood pressure measurements were performed once a week. Two pre-set alarms informed a team of designate nurses if blood pressures exceeded 140/90 mmHg (orange alarm) or 180/110 mmHg (red alarm). After one red or two successive orange alarms, the patient was contacted by telephone for guideline driven lifestyle advice or medication adjustment in consultation with a cardiologist. After every intervention, a blanking period of four weeks was set in which no orange alarms were visible. Results The cohort consisted of 161 patients (mean age 63±9.8 years; 54% male). The median follow up time was 318 days. At baseline, the mean blood pressure was 155/91 mmHg. During follow-up mean blood pressure decreased significantly to 134/83 mmHg (p<0.001 for both systolic and diastolic blood pressure). At follow up, 102 (62%) patients were normotensive. During follow up participants received a mean of 0.46 lifestyle advices and 0.74 medication changes in 1.07 consultations. Conclusion Home monitoring and treatment of patients therapy resistant hypertension with HartWacht resulted in a significant overall reduction of blood pressure, with >60% of patients being normotensive at last follow-up. Normotension in HartWacht patients Funding Acknowledgement Type of funding source: None

scholarly journals Effects of lower limb prosthesis on activity, participation, and quality of life: a systematic review

2012 ◽  
Vol 36 (2) ◽  
pp. 145-158 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kersti AM Samuelsson ◽  
Outi Töytäri ◽  
Anna-Liisa Salminen ◽  
Åse Brandt
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Systematic Review ◽  
Lower Limb ◽  
User Satisfaction ◽  
Real Life ◽  
Assistive Devices ◽  
Activity Participation ◽  
High Quality Research

Background: Effects presented on the use of assistive devices such as prosthesis are often based on laboratory findings (i.e. efficacy). Objectives: To summarise and evaluate findings from studies on effectiveness of lower limb prostheses for adults in real life contexts, primarily in terms of activity, participation, and quality of life (QoL) and secondarily in terms of user satisfaction, use/non-use, and/or cost-effectiveness. Study Design: Systematic review. Methods: We included controlled studies and non-controlled follow-up studies including both baseline and follow-up data. Using 14 different databases supplemented with manual searches, we searched for studies published from 1998 until June 2009. Results: Out of an initial 818 identified publications, eight met the inclusion criteria. Four studies reported on the effectiveness of a microprocessor-controlled knee (MP-knee) compared to a non-microprocessor-controlled knee (NMP-knee). Results were inconsistent except for quality of life and use/non-use, where the authors reported an improvement with the MP-knee compared to the NMP-knee. The remaining four studies included a diversity of prosthetic intervention measures and types of endpoints. Conclusions: Overall, there was an inconsistency in results and study quality. This review highlights the need for high-quality research studies that reflect the effectiveness of different prosthesis interventions in terms of users’ daily living and QoL. Clinical relevance Clinical guidelines are important to every practitioner. Information on expected effectiveness from assistive devices should be well founded and contain both facts about the device quality and its contribution to users’ daily lives. Thus, studies based on users’ experiences from prosthetic use in everyday life activities are of great importance.

P582Real-world experience with ehealth telemonitoring in patients with hypertension

2019 ◽  
Vol 40 (Supplement_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
S Blok ◽  
G A Somsen ◽  
B Stavrov ◽  
I I Tulevski ◽  
B J H Van Den Born ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Blood Pressure ◽  
Real Life ◽  
Home Monitoring ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Healthcare Team ◽  
Therapeutic Action ◽  
Real Life Setting ◽  
Target Values ◽  
The Mean

Abstract Background Hypertension is the strongest modifiable risk factor for cardiovascular disease worldwide, while incidence and prevalence remain high. Home-monitoring is known to improve blood pressure in patients with hypertension. Despite promising results, few home monitoring programs have successfully been integrated into daily care and little evidence exists on their cost-effectiveness. The Dutch HartWacht eHealth program, initiated in June 2016, is one of the first eHealth programs that is fully reimbursed and integrated into clinical practice. Purpose The purpose of the study is to demonstrate the effect of an integrated and cost-effective telemonitoring program in a real-life setting. Methods In the HartWacht program patients with uncontrolled hypertension (office BP >140/90) receive a blood pressure monitor that is connected to their smartphone and integrated with their personal electronic patient file. Measurements are checked by a dedicated health care team. If values exceed pre-defined thresholds, patients are contacted by the team for swift therapeutic action. In this study, the first results of the program are evaluated. Comparisons were made between last office blood pressure before the program; average blood pressure of first week of home measurement (twice daily, morning and evening); and blood pressure of home measurement at three, six and twelve months after start. Results 122 patients started the HartWacht program for hypertension (female: 57 (46.7%); mean age: 61.2 (±9.5) years; mean follow-up: 13.4 (±7.6) months; mean number of anti-hypertensive drugs at start of HartWacht: 1.8 (±0.9); mean number of medication changes per year during follow-up (including changes in dose): 1.0 (±1.6); mean number of contact moments per year during follow-up (including calls with nurse or cardiologist): 4.9 (±5.0)). At final follow-up, 67 patients participated at least one year. Others started later or stopped the program, mainly because of reaching normotensive values (n=22; home BP <135/85). The mean last office systolic blood pressure (SBP) measurement (n=122) was 157.9 mmHg (±19.2). The mean home SBP in the first week (n=120) was 139.9 mmHg (±13.9). After 3 months the mean home SBP lowered to 133.8 mmHg (±14.9), a significant decrease compared to week 1 (mean: 6.1 (±13.8), p<0.001). After this moment the mean home SBP was stable: 132.5 mmHg (±12.6) at six months (n=99) and 132.2 mmHg (±12.4) at 12 months (n=67). No correlation was found between the number of medication adaptations and/or contact moments with the healthcare team and reaching target values. Conclusion This integrated eHeatlh telemonitoring program demonstrates significant and persistent blood pressure reduction in a real-life setting. As measurements are continuously monitored, swift therapeutic action is guaranteed. The Dutch HartWacht program has proven to be cost-effective, is reimbursed, and has the potential to be scaled up (inter-)nationally.

scholarly journals Risk assessment via layered mobile contact tracing for epidemiological intervention

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vishwesha Guttal ◽  
Sandeep Krishna ◽  
Rahul Siddharthan
Keyword(s):  
Mobile Apps ◽  
Intervention Strategy ◽  
Real Life ◽  
Warning System ◽  
Mobile Technologies ◽  
Contact Tracing ◽  
Contact Method ◽  
Privacy Concerns ◽  
Naive Method ◽  
Contact Data

AbstractThere is strong interest globally amidst the current COVID-19 pandemic in tracing contacts of infectious patients using mobile technologies, both as a warning system to individuals and as a targeted intervention strategy for governments. Several governments, including India, have introduced mobile apps for this purpose, which give a warning when the individual’s phone establishes bluetooth contact with the phone of an infected person. We present a methodology to probabilistically evaluate risk of infection given the network of contacts that individuals are likely to encounter in real life. Instead of binary “infected” or “uninfected” statuses, an infection risk probability is maintained which can be efficiently calculated based on probabilities of recent contacts, and updated when a recent contact is diagnosed with a disease. We demonstrate on realistic networks that this method sharply outperforms a naive immediate-contact method even in an ideal circumstance that all infected persons are known to the naive method. We demonstrate robustness to missing contact information (such as when phones fail to make bluetooth contact or the app is not installed). We show, within our model, a strong flattening of the infectious peak when even a small fraction of cases are identified, tested and isolated. In the real world, where most known-infected persons are isolated or quarantined and where many individuals may not carry their mobiles in public, we believe the improvement offered by our method warrants consideration. Importantly, in view of widespread concerns on privacy and contact-tracing, our method relies mainly on direct contact data that can be stored locally on users’ phones, and uses limited communication via intermediary servers only upon testing, mitigating privacy concerns.

PP349 Use Of Applications For Mobile Devices In Asthma Control: A Systematic Review Of Literature

2020 ◽  
Vol 36 (S1) ◽  
pp. 29-30
Author(s):  
Caroline Pavin Lacerda ◽  
Katiuce Tomazi Kny ◽  
Maria Angélica Pires Ferreira
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Review ◽  
Asthma Control ◽  
Mobile Device ◽  
Randomized Clinical Trials ◽  
Mobile Apps ◽  
Wide Availability ◽  
Device Applications ◽  
Meta Analyses ◽  
Asthma Action Plans

IntroductionCell phones and information technology can be allies in the care of chronic diseases. Despite the wide availability of mobile device applications (apps), many offered by industry and providers, questions remain about the real efficacy of these technologies. The objective of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of mobile device apps designed for use by outpatients in treatment for asthma and describe its main characteristics and functionalities.MethodsA systematic review according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) protocol was conducted. MEDLINE and EMBASE were searched for randomized clinical trials (RCTs) evaluating the adoption of mobile apps on Android or iOS systems compared to the usual care, published in the last five years. Asthma control rate was defined as the primary outcome, and visits to emergency departments, hospitalizations and adherence to pharmacological treatment were secondary outcomes.ResultsFour RCTs (n = 415) met the inclusion criteria, two involving children and adults, and two only adults. Methodological quality was low to moderate. Common functionalities were asthma action plans, registration of the usual treatment, symptom diaries and educational alerts. Results were heterogeneous with respect to all outcomes evaluated. Study dropouts and lack of follow-up were frequent.ConclusionsThe clinical utility of mobile apps for asthma was evaluated in a few randomized studies; more data are necessary to establish the value of these technologies for asthma control.

The impact of health apps on lifestyle behaviours and cardiovascular risk factors in patients with cardiovascular risk factors or established cardiovascular disease: a systematic review

2021 ◽  
Vol 28 (Supplement_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
R Buys ◽  
J Claes ◽  
N Cornelis ◽  
L Alen ◽  
T Bogaert ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Risk Factors ◽  
Systematic Review ◽  
Weight Loss ◽  
Cardiovascular Risk ◽  
Cardiovascular Risk Factors ◽  
Healthy Lifestyle ◽  
Mobile Apps ◽  
Qualitative Synthesis ◽  
Health Apps

Abstract Funding Acknowledgements Type of funding sources: Public grant(s) – EU funding. Main funding source(s): European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme Background  Adequate levels of physical activity (PA) and a healthy diet can contribute to weight loss, improved blood pressure, improved lipid levels and higher insulin sensitivity and thus decrease the risk for the development of cardiovascular disease (CVD). Recently, mobile technologies, such as mobile applications (apps) have been developed for supporting adherence to a healthy lifestyle in an individualized and interactive manner.  Purpose  The aim of this systematic review was to summarize the effectiveness of such mobile apps targeting PA and/or dietary behavior and cardiovascular risk factors in primary and secondary prevention.  Methods Four databases (Pubmed, Sportdiscus, Cinahl, Embase) were searched to identify prospective studies evaluating mobile apps targeting healthy diet and/or PA. Rayyan software was used for screening articles. Only interventional trials that assessed the effectiveness of health apps on diet, PA and/or cardiovascular risk factors were included. Quality assessment was performed using the MINORS tool. Qualitative synthesis was performed providing data summaries according to different subgroups: healthy adults, adults who are overweight, have obesity, hypertension, CVD or diabetes.  Results Out of 7073 records identified, 52 articles, reporting on 44 studies with variable study designs, could be included in qualitative synthesis. Interventions targeted diet, PA and/or adherence to therapy/healthy lifestyle and reported on at least one cardiovascular risk factor. In 20 studies, weight loss was a target of the mobile intervention, the vast majority (17/20 studies) reported weight loss following app usage of at least similar extent as usual care. Twenty-six mobile interventions targeted PA and/or exercise training and 23 of them resulted in an increase in PA in the short term. Four studies performed in patients with CVD showed that health app usage could be related to increased PA and improved diet, resulting in similar health benefits as usual care. The most commonly employed behavioural change methods were goal setting and self-monitoring, the use of financial incentives for inducing beneficial lifestyle changes yielded inconclusive results. Main limitations of the studies were small sample sizes, short follow-up duration and lack of controlled trial design.  Conclusion Mobile apps targeting healthy lifestyle for the management of cardiovascular risk factors seem to be valuable tools to add to current practice in preventive medicine. However, larger, controlled studies with longer follow-up duration are needed to confirm these early findings.

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