Assessment and Prediction of Privacy Concerns on Health Apps (Preprint)

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Reham AlTamime ◽  
Vincent Marmion ◽  
Wendy Hall
Keyword(s):  
Data Sharing ◽  
Mobile Applications ◽  
Retention Rate ◽  
Mobile Apps ◽  
Third Party ◽  
Privacy Concerns ◽  
Health Apps ◽  
Mobile Health Apps ◽  
Specific Factors ◽  
And Control

BACKGROUND Mobile apps and IoT-enabled smartphones technologies facilitate collecting, sharing, and inferring from a vast amount of data about individuals’ location, health conditions, mobility status, and other factors. The use of such technology highlights the importance of understanding individuals’ privacy concerns to design applications that integrate their privacy expectations and requirements. OBJECTIVE This paper explores, assesses, and predicts individuals’ privacy concerns in relation to collecting and disclosing data on mobile health apps. METHODS We designed a questionnaire to identify participants’ privacy concerns pertaining to a set of 432 mobile apps’ data collection and sharing scenarios. Participants were presented with 27 scenarios that varied across three categorical factors: (1) type of data collected (e.g. health, demographic, behavioral, and location); (2) data sharing (e.g., whether it is shared, and for what purpose); and, (3) retention rate (e.g., forever, until the purpose is satisfied, unspecified, week, or year). RESULTS Our findings show that type of data, data sharing, and retention rate are all factors that affect individuals’ privacy concerns. However, specific factors such as collecting and disclosing health data to a third-party tracker play a larger role than other factors in triggering privacy concerns. CONCLUSIONS Our findings suggest that it is possible to predict privacy concerns based on these three factors. We propose design approaches that can improve users’ awareness and control of their data on mobile applications

Abstract P201: Evaluating Data Sharing And Privacy Policies Of Diabetes Mobile Apps: Where Is The Data Going?

Hypertension ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 76 (Suppl_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Khaled Abdelrahman ◽  
Josh Bilello ◽  
Megna Panchbhavi ◽  
Mohammed S Abdullah
Keyword(s):  
Data Sharing ◽  
Mobile Applications ◽  
Mobile Apps ◽  
Third Party ◽  
Privacy Policy ◽  
Privacy Policies ◽  
Privacy Concerns ◽  
App Store ◽  
User Data ◽  
Do So

Introduction: Diabetes mobile applications (apps) that help patients monitor disease have led to privacy concerns. We aimed to assess privacy policies for diabetes mobile applications with a focus on data transmission to outside parties. Methods: The App Store was used to gather apps pertaining to diabetes by searching “diabetes” and “blood sugar”. Two readers evaluated privacy policies (PP) including data sharing and storing techniques for mention of 27 predetermined criteria. All network traffic generated while loading and using the app was intercepted by a man-in-the-middle attack to listen to data delivered between the sender and receiver of data transmissions. A packet analyzer determined contents of transmission, where data was sent, and if transmission contained user data. Results: Of 35 apps evaluated, 29 (83%) had PP. The most frequent transmission destinations were Google (n=130 transmissions), Kamai Technologies (n=53), Facebook (n=38) and Amazon (n=33). 35 of 35 apps (100%) were transmitting data to a third party. 2 of 2 (100%) of those who had a privacy policy without mention of a third party transmitted data to a third party. 8 of 8 (100%) apps who mentioned they would not transmit to a third party were found to do so. 19 of 19 (100%) apps who mentioned they would transmit data to a third party were found to do so. All apps (n=6) without a privacy policy were found to be transmitting data to a third party. Conclusion: Most diabetes apps on the App store have accessible PP. All apps evaluated transmitted data to a third party, even when the policy stated this would not occur. As mobile applications are increasingly utilized by patients, it is important to warn of privacy implications.

The App Rating Inventory: A Novel Method for Evaluating Mobile Apps (Preprint)

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rachel Mackey ◽  
Ann Gleason ◽  
Robert Ciulla
Keyword(s):  
Market Research ◽  
Mobile Apps ◽  
Scoring Systems ◽  
Disease Category ◽  
Broad Application ◽  
Health Apps ◽  
Mobile Health Apps ◽  
Positive Score ◽  
Novel Method ◽  
Objective Rating

BACKGROUND A prodigious number of mobile health apps have flooded the market. The lack of guidelines for identifying high-quality apps from the overwhelming number of available apps creates confusion forestalling clinical adoption. OBJECTIVE The Defense Health Agency’s (DHA) Connected Health Branch developed the app rating inventory (ARI), an objective rating system with capability for broad application across condition areas. METHODS During the development of the ARI, three rounds of testing were conducted to enhance the tool’s performance, reduce redundancy, validate the ARI’s broad application, and assess potential subjectivity. RESULTS The ARI is a 28-item, three-criterion tool. The evidence criterion contains six items, and the content and customizability criterion each contain eleven items. Scoring is based on a simple binary system: either the app contains the feature or it does not. The 28 items are weighted equally; no one item is considered more (or less) important than any other. Each rated app receives four scores: a score for evidence, content, and customizability, and a total score (the sum of the three categories.). Higher scores indicate that the app obtained a positive score on more items than a similar app with a lower score. The evidence, content and customizability scores allow a clinician to make focused decisions when selecting an app for clinical use. CONCLUSIONS Using a two-phased process (market research followed by ratings), the ARI is able to evaluate apps for evidence, content and customizability. Scoring systems provide guidance; they filter down hundreds of apps in a disease category to a handful for consideration. Indeed, apps are not new medicine; in many cases, they are a novel delivery system for proven interventions.

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.

Nick Noguez and Michael Gonzalez Discuss their Research Project: Are Social Features in Mobile Health Apps Effective in Engaging Users? A Content Analysis of Smoking Cessation Mobile Apps

2019 ◽  
Vol 4 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nick Noguez And Michael Gonzalez
Keyword(s):  
Smoking Cessation ◽  
Content Analysis ◽  
Mobile Health ◽  
Social Engagement ◽  
Rating Scale ◽  
Mobile Apps ◽  
Mobile App ◽  
Health Apps ◽  
Social Features ◽  
Mobile Health Apps

  Despite the ubiquity of smartphone ownership and the increasing integration of social engagement features in smoking cessation apps to engage users, thesocial engagement features that exist in current smoking cessation apps and how effective these social features are in engaging users remain unclear. To fill the gap in the literature, a content analysis of free and paid smoking cessation mobile apps isconducted to examine a) the presence of socialengagement features(e.g., social support, social announcement, social referencing) and non-social engagement features (e.g., personal environmental changes, goal setting), and b) their relationship with user ratingsand engagement scores (e.g., Mobile App rating scale [MARS]). The findings will not only extend the mobile health apps engagement typology,but also inform smoking cessation mobile apps design.

scholarly journals Win Big Fast! An Evaluation of Mobile Applications Available in Australia for Problem Gambling

2020 ◽  
Vol 45 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kelly Ridley ◽  
Amy Wiltshire ◽  
Mathew Coleman
Keyword(s):  
Problem Gambling ◽  
Nous Avons ◽  
Rating Scale ◽  
Mobile Apps ◽  
Descriptive Analysis ◽  
Mobile App ◽  
Health Apps ◽  
Mobile Health Apps ◽  
Traditional Therapies ◽  
Therapeutic Model

With the increase in availability of gambling applications (apps) for mobile phones, it has never been easier for individuals to access gaming systems. A proportion of these users will be affected by gambling disorder (GD). Traditional therapies for GD can be geographically and financially difficult to access. Mobile health apps can be useful for other addictions and provide another avenue of treatment for GD. Our objective in this study was to review the features, models of treatment, and aims of apps marketed to assist people in addressing their gambling. We searched the three largest app stores in Australia and performed a descriptive analysis based on the Mobile App Rating Scale of the apps purporting to be of assistance in managing GD or problem gambling. The number of apps available for addressing GD in Australia was vastly outnumbered by the number of apps for gambling or gaming. Apps that met the inclusion criteria most often aimed at total cessation of gambling, but did not use a recognizable therapeutic model. A majority of apps featured a single tool, most often a sober time tracker. Few of the apps were affiliated with existing services, and those that were tended to have a broader range of features and tools. Mobile apps present another way for individuals who are struggling with GD or problem gambling to access treatment. For apps to be effective, more attention needs to be paid to their design in order for them to be both useful and noticeable in the milieu of more invitingly designed apps that promote gambling.RésuméÉtant donné le nombre grandissant d’applications de jeux de hasard pour téléphone mobile, il n’a jamais été aussi facile d’accéder à des systèmes de jeu. Un certain nombre des utilisateurs de ces appareils développeront une dépendance au jeu (DJ). Les thérapies conventionnelles en matière de DJ peuvent être difficiles d’accès en raison de la distance géographique et de leur coût. Les applications mobiles dédiées à la santé, parfois pour traiter d’autres formes de dépendance, pourraient offrir des possibilités de traitement du jeu pathologique. Nous avons analysé les caractéristiques, les modèles de traitement et les objectifs des applications qui prétendent aider les individus à dominer leur DP. Nous avons fouillé les trois principales boutiques d’applications d’Australie à la recherche de tels produits, puis les avons soumis à une analyse descriptive fondée sur un Mobile App Rating Scale [échelle d’évaluation des applications mobiles]. Le nombre d’applications destinées au contrôle de la DJ est largement inférieur à celui des produits dédiés à la pratique des jeux de hasard et des jeux vidéo. Les applications retenues visent pour la plupart l’abandon définitif du jeu, sans reposer sur un modèle thérapeutique reconnaissable. La majorité comporte un seul et unique outil, soit un dispositif de minutage du temps passé sans jouer. Quelques-unes sont jumelées à des services existants; elles tendent à offrir un éventail plus grand de caractéristiques et d’outils. Les applications mobiles offrent aux personnes aux prises avec une dépendance au jeu une autre voie d’accès au traitement. Pour améliorer leur efficacité, toutefois, il faudra accorder une plus grande attention à leur conception et faire en sorte qu’elles se démarquent nettement des applications autrement plus attrayantes qui font la promotion du jeu.

Quality Evaluation of English Mobile Applications for Gestational Diabetes: App Review using Mobile Application Rating Scale (MARS)

2020 ◽  
Vol 16 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sharareh Rostam Niakan Kalhori ◽  
Morteza Hemmat ◽  
Tayebe Noori ◽  
Saeede Heydarian ◽  
Meysam Rahmani Katigari
Keyword(s):  
Gestational Diabetes ◽  
Mobile Applications ◽  
English Language ◽  
Rating Scale ◽  
Positive Impact ◽  
Exclusion Process ◽  
Mobile App ◽  
Eligibility Criteria ◽  
Health Apps ◽  
Mobile Health Apps

Background: Mobile applications and social media serve their users as convenient tools to improve and monitor diseases and conditions such as pregnancy. These tools exert a positive impact on Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) self-management. Introduction: Despite the expansion of mobile health apps for the management of GDM, no study has evaluated these apps using a valid tool. This study aimed to search and review the apps developed for this purpose providing overall and specific rating scores for each aspect of MARS. Method: Two cases of app stores (IOS and Google Play) were searched in January 2019 for apps related to GDM. Search keywords included “gestational diabetes”, “pregnant diabetes”, and “Health apps”. Eligibility criteria include: capable of running on Android or IOS operating systems, in the English language, especially for GDM, and available in Iran. After removal of duplicates, then, they were reviewed, rated, and evaluated independently by two reviewers with Mobile App Rating Scale (MARS) tools. Results: Initially, 102 apps were identified after the exclusion process, five selected apps were downloaded and analyzed. All apps were classified into four categories according to contents and their interactive capabilities. In most quadrants of MARS, the Pregnant with Diabetes app received the highest scores. Also, in general, the maximum app quality mean score belonged to Pregnant with Diabetes (3.10 / 5.00). Conclusion: Findings revealed that apps designed for GDM are small in number and poor in quality based on MARS tools. Therefore, considering pregnant women’s need for using the capabilities of these apps in pregnancy management and promoting community-based care, it seems essential to develop and design a series of high-quality apps in all four specified categories (only giving comments, obtaining data and giving comments, diagnosis of GDM, and diet calculator).

scholarly journals Losing Control to Data-Hungry Apps: A Mixed-Methods Approach to Mobile App Privacy

2018 ◽  
Vol 37 (4) ◽  
pp. 466-488 ◽  
Author(s):  
Petter Bae Brandtzaeg ◽  
Antoine Pultier ◽  
Gro Mette Moen
Keyword(s):  
Mixed Methods ◽  
Data Sharing ◽  
Mobile Apps ◽  
Personal Data ◽  
The United States ◽  
Mobile App ◽  
Third Party ◽  
User Survey ◽  
Privacy Policies ◽  
Mixed Methods Approach

Personal data from mobile apps are increasingly impacting users’ lives and privacy perceptions. However, there is a scarcity of research addressing the combination of (1) individual perceptions of mobile app privacy, (2) actual dataflows in apps, and (3) how such perceptions and dataflows relate to actual privacy policies and terms of use in mobile apps. To address these limitations, we conducted an innovative mixed-methods study including a representative user survey in Norway, an analysis of personal dataflows in apps, and content analysis of privacy policies of 21 popular, free Android mobile apps. Our findings show that more than half the respondents in the user survey repeatedly had refrained from downloading or using apps to avoid sharing personal data. Our analysis of dataflows applied a novel methodology measuring activity in the apps over time (48 hr). The investigation showed that 19 of the 21 apps investigated transmitted personal data to a total of approximately 600 different primary and third-party domains. From an European perspective, it is particularly noteworthy that most of these domains were associated with tech companies in the United States, where privacy laws are less strict than companies operating from Europe. The investigation further revealed that some apps by default track and share user data continuously, even when the app is not in use. For some of these, the terms of use provided with the apps did not inform the users about the actual tracking practice. A comparison of terms of use as provided in the studied apps with actual person dataflows as identified in the analysis disclosed that three of the apps shared data in violation with their provided terms of use. A possible solution for the mobile app industry, to strengthen user trust, is privacy by design through opt-in data sharing with the service and third parties and more granular information on personal data sharing practices. Also, based on the findings from this study, we suggest specific visualizations to enhance transparency of personal dataflows in mobile apps. A methodological contribution is that a mixed-methods approach strengthens our understanding of the complexity of privacy issues in mobile apps.

The efficacy of using mobile applications in changing adolescent girls’ physical activity behaviour during weekends

2020 ◽  
Vol 27 (1) ◽  
pp. 113-131
Author(s):  
Ming Li Carol Seah ◽  
Koon Teck Koh
Keyword(s):  
Physical Activity ◽  
Adolescent Girls ◽  
Mobile Applications ◽  
Mobile Apps ◽  
Physical Activity Behaviour ◽  
Mobile App ◽  
Convenience Sample ◽  
Self Monitoring ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
And Control

Smartphones are omnipresent and offer real-time information on the go. Predominantly, adolescent girls have been found to be engaged in levels of physical activity (PA) below the daily recommended guideline of at least 60 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous intensity, and especially during weekends. Lack of sufficient PA can lead to a risk of contracting non-communicable diseases. The purpose of this exploratory study was to investigate the efficacy of using mobile applications (app) (i.e. MapMyFitness [MMF]) in changing adolescent girls’ PA behaviour during weekends. It also examined the perceived benefits, challenges and recommendations for using mobile apps. Thirty-six participants aged 15 years ( Mage = 14.9; SD = 0.30) from a convenience sample volunteered and took part in the present study, which spanned four weekends. Quantitative results showed a significant difference in the mean step count between experimental and control groups during week two, probably due to the novelty effect when the participants were introduced to the new MMF mobile app. Overall, the use of the MMF app seems to be able to attenuate the decline of adolescent girls’ PA level during weekends. Qualitative results revealed benefits of using mobile apps to promote PA, such as a sense of autonomy in selecting PA, the ability to view friends’ postings of PA and self-monitoring of PA. The study revealed specific challenges to using such PA mobile apps - in particular, factors such as the cumbersome and confusing functions in the app that discouraged users from performing PA. Recommendations included allowing users to customise their accounts, simplifying the app’s functions, and including rewards and videos as motivators to enhance users’ PA experience. Although mobile apps may have the potential to encourage participation in PA, a careful selection of mobile app functions is required to engage adolescent girls to continue to use it for PA.

Mobile Health Apps: Improving Usability for Older Adult Users

2019 ◽  
Vol 27 (4) ◽  
pp. 4-13 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephanie A. Morey ◽  
Rachel E. Stuck ◽  
Amy W. Chong ◽  
Laura H. Barg-Walkow ◽  
Tracy L. Mitzner ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Older Adult ◽  
Mobile Apps ◽  
Medication Management ◽  
Health Apps ◽  
Access To Health ◽  
Mobile Health Apps ◽  
Potential Benefits ◽  
Smartphone Use ◽  
Older Populations

With smartphone use among older populations on the rise, older adults have increased access to health-focused mobile apps. Despite their potential benefits for managing health, currently no guidelines exist for designing these apps specifically for older adult users. We evaluated the usability of one medication management app and two congestive heart failure management apps using cognitive walkthroughs, heuristic analysis, and user testing. We identified design issues that may affect usability for older users, including poor navigation, small button sizes, and inadequate data visualizations. We provide guidelines for developers of health apps to facilitate use by older adults.

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.

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