Abstract
Searching the commercial Google Play Store and App Store is one of the most common strategies for discovering mobile applications for digital health, both among consumers and healthcare professionals. However, several studies have suggested a possible mismatch between this strategy and the objective of finding apps in physical and mental health that are both clinically relevant and reliable from a privacy standpoint. This study provides direct evidence of a gap between the five-star user rating system and expert ratings from a curated library of over 1,200 apps that cover both physical and mental health. An objective metric is derived to assess the strength of the user-expert gap for each app, which in turn allows identifying missed opportunities—low user ratings and high expert ratings—and overrated apps—high user ratings and low expert ratings. Implications for practice and care delivery are discussed.
Highlights
The emergence of technology has reinvented the way consumers and professionals view the delivery of physical and mental health services
The vast majority find health apps on social media or through personal searches in commercial app stores, with a small minority of them being recommended by a healthcare professional [2]
There was no effect of health domain or platform on the different ratings, there was a near-moderate effect of platform on user ratings, F(1233, 1) = 55.44, p < 0.001, η2p = 0.05
Summary
The emergence of technology has reinvented the way consumers and professionals view the delivery of physical and mental health services. Both have welcomed the potential of mobile applications to enhance health services and to overcome key barriers to accessing care [1]. In the absence of easy access to reliable information, searching the commercial app stores remains a common method to discover and select health apps, even among experienced professionals [3]. This strategy can yield search results very rapidly, but professionals are likely to encounter misinformation and make decisions based on misleading clues. Even more problematic is the reliance on user ratings as a reliable estimate
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