Smartphone app for asthma self-management – a literature review of contents and functions

Abstract

A self-management is an important thing in achieving optimum health outcomes. One of the many effective ways that help improve the outcomes of self-management in asthma is through the use of smartphone applications or popularly known as apps. The apps have been designed to help patients in controlling asthma complaints. This study aimed to examine contents and functions featured in the reviewed studies as well as to suggest what functions and contents should be featured in an asthma self-management smartphone app. This study used a systematic approach to examine and review the contents and functions of asthma management apps from selected studies. Inclusion criteria of the study included studies related to the use of asthma control or asthma self-management apps, providing information about contents and features of asthma apps, apps in the reviewed studies designed for laypersons or patients, studies published in peer-reviewed scientific journals in English, and original articles. All the studies had been taken from 2013 to 2018 from three databases, namely Pubmed, Science Direct, and ProQuest. Exclusion criteria included full text unable to be accessed and unable to obtain complete full statistical data. Results of this study showed that the most popular functions and contents featured in the asthma apps involved asthma education, medication use monitor, medication reminder, asthma control test, peak flow meter, asthma symptom monitor, and asthma action plan. Less popular functions and contents included a chat with others, Air Quality Health Index, and Quality of Life Questionnaires.