Consumer Mobile Apps for Potential Drug-Drug Interaction Check: Systematic Review and Content Analysis Using the Mobile App Rating Scale (MARS)

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.

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Mobile apps for detecting falsified and substandard drugs: A systematic review

PLoS ONE ◽

10.1371/journal.pone.0246061 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 16 (2) ◽

pp. e0246061

Author(s):

Agustín Ciapponi ◽

Manuel Donato ◽

A. Metin Gülmezoglu ◽

Tomás Alconada ◽

Ariel Bardach

Keyword(s):

Systematic Review ◽

Rating Scale ◽

Mobile Apps ◽

Mobile App ◽

Economic Consequences ◽

Google Scholar ◽

Medical Database ◽

Bar Code ◽

Medical Databases

The use of substandard and counterfeit medicines (SCM) leads to significant health and economic consequences, like treatment failure, rise of antimicrobial resistance, extra expenditures of individuals or households and serious adverse drug reactions including death. Our objective was to systematically search, identify and compare relevant available mobile applications (apps) for smartphones and tablets, which use could potentially affect clinical and public health outcomes. We carried out a systematic review of the literature in January 2020, including major medical databases, and app stores. We used the validated Mobile App Rating Scale (MARS) to assess the quality of apps, (1 worst score, 3 acceptable score, and 5 best score). We planned to evaluate the accuracy of the mobile apps to detect SCM. We retrieved 335 references through medical databases and 42 from Apple, Google stores and Google Scholar. We finally included two studies of the medical database, 25 apps (eight from the App Store, eight from Google Play, eight from both stores, and one from Google Scholar), and 16 websites. We only found one report on the accuracy of a mobile apps detecting SCMs. Most apps use the imprint, color or shape for pill identification, and only a few offer pill detection through photographs or bar code. The MARS mean score for the apps was 3.17 (acceptable), with a maximum of 4.9 and a minimum of 1.1. The ‘functionality’ dimension resulted in the highest mean score (3.4), while the ‘engagement’ and ‘information’ dimensions showed the lowest one (3.0). In conclusion, we found a remarkable evidence gap about the accuracy of mobile apps in detecting SCMs. However, mobile apps could potentially be useful to screen for SCM by assessing the physical characteristics of pills, although this should still be assessed in properly designed research studies.

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Theory-Based Social and Non-Social Engagement Features in Smoking Cessation Mobile Apps: A Content Analysis

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health ◽

10.3390/ijerph18179106 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 18 (17) ◽

pp. 9106

Author(s):

Qinghua Yang

Keyword(s):

Social Support ◽

Smoking Cessation ◽

Content Analysis ◽

Social Engagement ◽

Rating Scale ◽

Mobile Apps ◽

Mobile App ◽

Social Referencing ◽

User Engagement ◽

The Social

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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Mobile Apps for Management of Tinnitus: Users’ Survey, Quality Assessment, and Content Analysis (Preprint)

10.2196/preprints.10353 ◽

2018 ◽

Author(s):

Magdalena Sereda ◽

Sandra Smith ◽

Kiri Newton ◽

David Stockdale

Keyword(s):

Content Analysis ◽

Quality Assessment ◽

Health Care Professionals ◽

Rating Scale ◽

Mobile Apps ◽

Current Model ◽

Mobile App ◽

Specific Information ◽

Management Options ◽

Sound Therapy

BACKGROUND Tinnitus is the perception of a sound without any outside source. It affects 6 million people in the United Kingdom. Sound therapy is a core component of many tinnitus management programs. Potential mechanisms of benefit include making tinnitus less noticeable, habituation, distracting attention from tinnitus, relaxation, and promoting neuroplastic changes within the brain. In recent years, there has been a substantial increase in the use of mobile technology. This provided an additional medium through which people with tinnitus can access different tinnitus management options, including sound therapy. OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to (1) generate the list of apps that people use for management of their tinnitus, (2) explore reasons for app use and nonuse, (3) perform quality assessment of the most cited apps, and (4) perform content analysis to explore and describe options and management techniques available in the most cited apps. METHODS A Web-based survey consisting of 33 open and closed questions captured (1) demographic information, information about tinnitus, and hearing loss and (2) mobile app–specific information about the motivation to use an app, the apps which respondents used for tinnitus, important factors when choosing an app, devices used to access apps, and reasons for not using apps. The quality of the most cited apps was assessed using the Mobile Apps Rating Scale (MARS). Content and features of the most cited apps were analyzed. RESULTS Data from 643 respondents were analyzed. The majority of respondents (482/643, 75.0%) had never used an app for management of tinnitus mainly because of lack of awareness (381/643, 59.3%). The list of the 55 apps that people use for their tinnitus was generated. These included apps that were developed specifically for the management of tinnitus; however, the majority of cited apps were developed for other problems (eg, sleep, depression or anxiety, and relaxation). Quality assessment of the 18 most popular apps using MARS resulted in a range of mean scores from 1.6 to 4.2 (out of 5). In line with the current model of tinnitus management, sound was the main focus of the majority of the apps. Other components included relaxation exercises, elements of cognitive behavioral therapy, information and education, and hypnosis. CONCLUSIONS People used apps for the management of their tinnitus; however, this was done mostly as a self-help option, without conjunction with management provided by hearing health care professionals. Further research should consider the place for apps in tinnitus management (stand-alone self-management intervention vs part of the management by a hearing professional). As the content of the apps varies with respect to sound options, information, and management strategies, it seems that the choice of the best management app should be guided by individual patient’s needs and preferences.

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Prevalence of potential drug- drug interactions and associated factors among outpatients and inpatients in Ethiopian Hospitals: a systematic review and Meta-analysis of observational studies

10.21203/rs.2.20891/v4 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Wondim Ayenew ◽

Getahun Asmamaw ◽

Arebu Issa

Keyword(s):

Systematic Review ◽

Drug Interaction ◽

Drug Interactions ◽

Associated Factors ◽

Meta Analysis ◽

Random Effect Model ◽

Potential Drug ◽

Comorbid Disease ◽

Factors Associated ◽

Drug Drug Interaction

Abstract Background: Drug-drug interaction is an emerging threat to public health. Currently, there is an increase in comorbid disease, polypharmacy, and hospitalization in Ethiopia. Thus, the possibility of drug-drug interaction occurrence is high in hospitals. This study aims to summarize the prevalence of potential drug-drug interactions and associated factors in Ethiopian hospitals.Methods: A literature search was performed by accessing legitimate databases in PubMed/MEDLINE, Google Scholar, and Research Gate for English-language publications. To fetch further related topics advanced search was also applied in Science Direct and HINARI databases. The search was conducted on August 3 to 25, 2019. All published articles available online until the day of data collection were considered. Outcome measures were analyzed with Open Meta Analyst and CMA version statistical software. Der Simonian and Laird’s random effect model, I2 statistics, and Logit event rate were also performed.Results: A total of 14 studies remained eligible for inclusion in systematic review and meta-analysis. From the included studies, around 8,717 potential drug-drug interactions were found in 3,259 peoples out of 5,761 patients. The prevalence of patients with potential drug-drug interactions in Ethiopian hospitals was found to be 72.2% (95% confidence interval: 59.1%, 85.3%). Based on severity, the prevalence of major, moderate, and minor potential drug-drug interaction was 25.1%, 52.8%, 16.9%, respectively, also 1.27% for contraindications. The factors associated with potential drug-drug interactions were related to patient characteristics such as polypharmacy, age, comorbid disease, and hospital stay.Conclusions: There is a high prevalence of potential drug-drug interactions in Ethiopian hospitals. Polypharmacy, age, comorbid disease, and hospital stay were the risk factors associated with potential drug-drug interactions.

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Content analysis of behavior change techniques in popular mobile apps for smoking cessation in France. (Preprint)

10.2196/preprints.26082 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Luz Bustamante ◽

Cédric Gill Ménard ◽

Sabrina Julien ◽

Lucia Romo

Keyword(s):

Smoking Cessation ◽

Content Analysis ◽

Rating Scale ◽

Mobile Apps ◽

Mobile App ◽

Smoking Cessation Treatment ◽

Content Quality ◽

Cessation Treatment ◽

General Quality

BACKGROUND The mobile app market differs from country to country, and to date no previous review of smoking cessation applications (apps) content quality has been conducted in France. OBJECTIVE The current review aims to examine the general quality of the most popular smoking cessation apps in France and also determine the degree to which apps adhere to established behavioral and cognitive techniques (BCT’s) proven effective in clinical practice. METHODS A systematic research of smoking cessation apps was conducted in both Google Play and Apple store in the French market. The general quality of popular apps was rated with the Mobile App Rating Scale (MARS) and the therapeutical quality was assessed with the ratio of adherence of the BCT taxonomy for smoking cessation treatment. RESULTS 14 mobile apps met all the inclusion criteria of the content analysis. The inter-rater reliability varies from “substantial’ (0,79) to “almost perfect” (0,9) for both measures. The mean MARS score was 3,5 out of 5 (median 3,1- IQR 1,3). Findings suggest that popular apps focused primary on the functionality dimension of the MARS scale (4.2 out of 5). The average number of BCT techniques was 22, with a huge difference between apps (min=4/max=38). At least half of the apps addressed motivation (63%) and advise on using behavioral skills in order to quit or stay nonsmoker (62%). However, only a handful of apps gathered important information (42%) in order to deliver proper advice regarding the use of approved medication or the implementation of the behavioral techniques (31%). The average MARS score was positively correlated with the price (r = .70, p = < .001), and with the number of BCT’s used (r = .66, p = < .005). User rating was not correlated with any quality scale. CONCLUSIONS Content quality of popular smoking cessation apps in France varied by app type and price. Most popular apps propose in general a good quality content but lack the implementation of evidence based BCT’s associated with effectiveness on smoking cessation treatment. Further research is needed to evaluate the improvement of the quality content of smoking cessation apps in France.

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