Abstract
BackgroundNewspapers are considered one of the most viewed and influential media sources in both the United Kingdom and United States. However, information about how newspapers portray health care apps to the readers has been lacking.ObjectiveThis study investigated the reporting on health care apps in newspapers published in the United Kingdom and United States.MethodsThe Nexis UK database was used to identify and select relevant articles. Systematic content analysis of the articles that met the inclusion criteria (articles of any format that contained reference to health care apps or medical apps) within the highest circulated newspapers in the United Kingdom and United States over a period of 10 years (2006-2015) was conducted. Interrater reliability of coding was established using a 10% sample of the chosen articles.ResultsA total of 220 (151 UK and 69 US) relevant newspaper articles were retrieved. Health care apps were most frequently reported on in the Daily Mail and The Guardian (UK newspapers) and in the New York Times and the Washington Post (US newspapers). An exponential rise in published scientific articles (PubMed) on health care-related apps was noted during the study period. A total of 26.4% (58/220) and 19.1% (42/220) of the retrieved newspaper articles appeared in the features and main news sections, respectively. General information about health care apps was the main theme coved by the newspapers (45.9%, 101/220). Most of the articles represented a societal point of view (72.3%, 159/220). The main focus of the articles was on general health matters (48.2%, 106/220) and specific disease matters (36.8%, 81/220). Diabetes was the most frequently mentioned disease in the articles. A high proportion (91.4%, 201/220) of the articles mentioned benefits of using health care apps mainly for personalized care, whereas 24.1% (53/220) of the articles commented on related risks such as anxiety and confidentiality issues. Almost half (45.9%, 101/220) of the articles mentioned potential facilitators to the use of apps; less than 10% (16/220) discussed barriers. Most of the articles (83.6%, 184/220) were judged as having balanced judgment on the present topic and more than half (60.0%, 132/220) of the articles were judged to be of generally low quality.ConclusionsHealth care apps were not widely reported in newspaper articles in the United Kingdom and United States over the study period; however, there appeared to be much more recent interest. Characteristically, the articles focused more frequently on societal impact and on general health rather than on disease-specific apps.
Highlights
Health care apps are defined by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as “software programs that run on smartphones and other mobile communication devices in order to, for example, provide health information to the public, provide other health-related support to patients and health care professionals and remotely transfer data to health care providers.” These apps can be used to facilitate decision making and provide the opportunity for consultations to take place remotely [1].Mobile phone apps are becoming increasingly popular globally and are being used by a substantial proportion of the population both in the developed and the developing world
With the knowledge that newspapers represent an important source of health-related information [36], and because no published research has investigated newspaper reporting on health care apps, the aim of this study was to explore what the general public have been told about health care apps within published newspaper articles in the United States and United Kingdom over a 10-year period (2006-2015) and to analyze the content of the articles
The initial search yielded a total of 714 UK and US newspaper articles reporting on health care apps between 2006 and 2015
Summary
Health care apps are defined by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as “software programs that run on smartphones and other mobile communication devices in order to, for example, provide health information to the public, provide other health-related support to patients and health care professionals and remotely transfer data to health care providers.”. Mobile phone apps are becoming increasingly popular globally and are being used by a substantial proportion of the population both in the developed and the developing world They are used on a daily basis to communicate with friends and relatives, perform online shopping, read news, and for monitoring health-related parameters including diet, exercise, and sleep. Conclusions: Health care apps were not widely reported in newspaper articles in the United Kingdom and United States over the study period; there appeared to be much more recent interest. The articles focused more frequently on societal impact and on general health rather than on disease-specific apps
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