Development Of mHealth Apps Research Articles

A comparative study on HIPAA technical safeguards assessment of android mHealth applications.

Protecting personal health records is becoming increasingly important as more people use Mobile Health applications (mHealth apps) to improve their health outcomes. These mHealth apps enable consumers to monitor their health-related problems, store, manage, and share health records, medical conditions, treatment, and medication. With the increase of mHealth apps accessibility and usability, it is crucial to create, receive, maintain or transmit protected health information (PHI) on behalf of a covered entity or another business associate. The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) provides guidelines to the app developers so that the apps must be compliant with required and addressable Technical Safeguards. However, most mobile app developers, including mHealth apps are not aware of HIPAA security and privacy regulations. Therefore, a research opportunity has emerged to develop an analytical framework to assist the developer to maintain a secure and HIPAA-compliant source code and raise awareness among consumers about the privacy and security of sensitive and personal health information. We proposed an Android source code analysis framework that evaluates twelve HIPAA Technical Safeguards to check whether a mHealth application is HIPAA compliant or not. The implemented meta-analysis and data-flow analysis algorithms efficiently identify the risk and safety features of mHealth apps that violate HIPAA regulations. Furthermore, we addressed API level checking for secure data communication mandated by recent CMS guidelines between third-party mobile health apps and EHR systems. Experimentally, a web-based tool has been developed for evaluating the efficacy of analysis techniques and algorithms. We have investigated 200 top popular Medical and Health & Fitness category Android apps collected from Google Play Store. We identified from the comparative analysis of the HIPAA rules assessment results that authorization to access sensitive resources, data encryption-decryption, and data transmission security is the most vulnerable features of the investigated apps. We provided recommendations to app developers about the most common mistake made at the time of app development and how to avoid these mistakes to implement secure and HIPAA-compliant apps. The proposed framework enables us to develop an IDE plugin for mHealth app developers and a web-based interface for mHealth app consumers.

Unsupervised Machine Learning to Identify Positive and Negative Themes in Jordanian mHealth Apps

User opinions are crucial in the development of mobile health (mHealth) applications (apps). This study aimed to investigate and qualitatively assess consumer attitudes toward mHealth apps and the main aspects of their design. The methodology was divided into four steps: (1) data collection, (2) preprocessing, (3) sentiment analysis by valence-aware dictionary and sentiment reasoner (VADER), and (4) thematic analysis by the latent Dirichlet allocation (LDA) algorithm. These steps were implemented in 836 reviews of eight mHealth apps on app stores in Jordan. The current study offers healthcare stakeholders insight into the positive and negative aspects of mHealth apps by identifying user-preferred features and recommending improvements. The findings indicate several aspects of design that mHealth app developers may use to improve overall efficacy, including user experience, client services, usability, and adherence.

Exploring Localized Usability Implementation in mHealth App Design for Healthcare Practitioners in the Global South Context: A Case Study

Purpose: This study was designed to better understand how mobile health applications (mHealth apps) designed in the Global North (GN) are perceived as usable, empowering, and persuasive by users, particularly healthcare practitioners, in the context of a Global South (GS) country.<br/> Method: This article employed an online survey of users of a mHealth app that was designed and developed in the GN for global use. Survey participants included healthcare practitioners from a GS country and the survey was administered by snowball sampling method.<br/> Results: Eighty-three survey responses from healthcare practitioners in Nepal were coded into three broad categories: user experience and mHealth apps, localized usability and mHealth apps, and persuasive design and mHealth apps. Their relationships and connections are examined within these categories.<br/> Conclusion: From a user empowerment perspective, understanding the interest, motivation, and concerns of end-users is vital to the development and implementation of mHealth apps, especially in the low- and middle-income healthcare contexts in which healthcare practitioners have limited resources. Culturally sustaining localized UX approaches should be adopted to create usable, empowering, and persuasive mHealth apps for use in resource-constrained cultural settings in the GS.

Lessons and Reflections From an Extended Co-design Process Developing an mHealth App With and for Older Adults: Multiphase, Mixed Methods Study.

There are many mobile health (mHealth) apps for older adult patients, but research has found that broadly speaking, mHealth still fails to meet the specific needs of older adult users. Others have highlighted the need to embed users in the mHealth design process in a fulsome and meaningful way. Co-design has been widely used in the development of mHealth apps and involves stakeholders in each phase of the design and development process. The involvement of older adults in the co-design processes is variable. To date, co-design approaches have tended toward embedding the stakeholders in early phases (eg, predesign and generative) but not throughout. The aim of this study was to reflect on the processes and lessons learned from engaging in an extended co-design process to develop an mHealth app for older adults, with older users contributing at each phase. This study aimed to design an mHealth tool to assist older adults in coordinating their care with health care professionals and caregivers. Our work to conceptualize, develop, and test the mHealth app consisted of 4 phases: phase 1, consulting stakeholders; phase 2, app development and co-designing with older adults; phase 3, field-testing with a smaller sample of older adult volunteer testers; and phase 4, reflecting, internally, on lessons learned from this process. In each phase, we drew on qualitative methods, including in-depth interviews and focus groups, all of which were analyzed in NVivo 11, using team-based thematic analysis. In phase 1, we identified key features that older adults and primary care providers wanted in an app, and each user group identified different priority features (older adults principally sought support to use the mHealth app, whereas primary care providers prioritized recoding illnesses, immunizations, and appointments). Phases 2 and 3 revealed significant mismatches between what the older adult users wanted and what our developers were able and willing to deliver. We were unable to craft the app that our consultations recommended, which the older adult field testers asked for. In phase 4, we reflected on our abilities to embed the voices and perspectives of older adults throughout the project when working with a developer not familiar with or committed to the core principles of co-design. We draw on this challenging experience to highlight several recommendations for those embarking on a co-design process that includes developers and IT vendors, researchers, and older adult users. Although our final mHealth app did not reflect all the needs and wishes of our older adult testers, our consultation process identified key features and contextual information essential for those developing apps to support older adults in managing their health and health care.

Descriptive Analysis of Mobile Apps for Management of COVID-19 in Spain and Development of an Innovate App in that field

To address the current pandemic, multiple studies have focused on the development of new mHealth apps to help in curbing the number of infections, these applications aim to accelerate the identification and self-isolation of people exposed to SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus known to cause COVID-19, by being in close contact with infected individuals. The main objectives of this paper are: (1) Analyze the current status of COVID-19 apps available on the main virtual stores: Google Play Store and App Store for Spain, and (2) Propose a novel mobile application that allows interaction and doctor-patient follow-up without the need for real-time consultations (face-to-face or telephone). In this research, a search for eHealth and telemedicine apps related to Covid-19 was performed in the main online stores: Google Play Store and App Store, until May 2021. Keywords were entered into the search engines of the online stores and relevant apps were selected for study using a PRISMA methodology. For the design and implementation of the proposed app named COVINFO, the main weaknesses of the apps studied were taken into account in order to propose a novel and useful app for healthcare systems. The search yielded a total of 50 apps, of which 24 were relevant to this study, of which 23 are free and 54% are available for Android and iOS operating systems (OS). The proposed app has been developed for mobile devices with Android OS being compatible with Android 4.4 and higher. This app enables doctor-patient interaction and constant monitoring of the patient's progress without the need for calls, chats or face-to-face consultation in real time. This work addresses design and development of an application for the transmission of the user's symptoms to his regular doctor, based on the fact that only 16.6% of existing applications have this functionality. The COVINFO app offers a novel service: asynchronous doctor-patient communication, as well as constant monitoring of the patient’s condition and evolution. This app makes it possible to better manage the time of healthcare personnel and avoid overcrowding in hospitals, with the aim of preventing the collapse of healthcare systems and the spread of the coronavirus.

Ten Steps to Design a Counseling App to Reduce the Psychosocial Impact of Human Papillomavirus Testing on the Basis of a User-Centered Design Approach in a Low- and Middle-Income Setting.

This study describes the 10 steps followed to produce the information architecture of a user-centered design (UCD) counseling mobile application, the first phase to develop an app. The app aims to reduce the psychosocial impact of the human papillomavirus test result and improve women's knowledge of human papilloma virus and cervical cancer. We used a UCD approach to produce the information architecture of the app (ie, how to organize contents into features). We analyzed field notes, meeting agendas, and documentation produced during each stage of the design process. We described the goals, methods, and outcomes of each step. We also discussed the critical challenges and the strategies to address them. The steps are (1) knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs mapping: reanalysis of team's research findings from prior studies; (2) environmental scanning of apps available on the market; (3) stakeholders' point of view: The International Advisory Committee; (4) potential user's profile: building archetypes through the Persona method; (5) women's interviews: user's preferences and experiences; (6) effective features: scoping review to select app's features that address psychosocial impact; (7) the user journey: ideal interaction with the gynecological service and the counseling app; (8) women's focus groups: using Personas and Scenarios to discuss app's mock-up; (9) women's design sessions: prototype test and card-sorting techniques; and (10) team's design session: translating results into visual objects and features. We provide here detailed descriptions of the UCD process of an app for human papillomavirus-tested women for those venturing into the area of mHealth strategies work. Our experience can be used as a guide for future mHealth app development for a low- and middle-income setting.

Role of Social and App-Related Factors in Behavioral Engagement With mHealth for Improved Well-being Among Chronically Ill Patients: Scenario-Based Survey Study.

BackgroundThe last decade has seen a considerable increase in the number of mobile health (mHealth) apps in everyday life. These mHealth apps have the potential to significantly improve the well-being of chronically ill patients. However, behavioral engagement with mHealth apps remains low.ObjectiveThe aim of this study was to describe the behavioral engagement of chronically ill patients with mHealth apps by investigating (1) how it is affected by social factors (ie, physician recommendation) and app-related factors (ie, app integration) and (2) how it affects patient well-being. This study also considers the moderating effect of attachment to traditional health care and the mobile app experience among patients.MethodsWe carried out a scenario-based survey study of chronically ill patients (N=521). A Bayesian structural equation modeling with mediation and moderation analysis was conducted in MPlus.ResultsBoth physician recommendations for mHealth app use and app integration have positive effects on the behavioral engagement of chronically ill patients with mHealth apps. Higher behavioral engagement positively affects the hedonic well-being (extent of pleasure) and the eudaemonic well-being (extent of self-efficacy) of chronically ill patients. Mobile app experience, however, positively moderates the relationship between app integration and behavioral engagement, whereas patient attachment to traditional care does not moderate the relationship between physician recommendation and behavioral engagement. Taken together, the proportion of variance explained (R²) equals 21% for behavioral engagement and 52.8% and 62.2% for hedonic and eudaemonic well-being, respectively, thereby providing support for the strong influence of app integration and physician recommendation via the mediation of the patients’ behavioral engagement on both patients’ hedonic and eudaemonic well-being.ConclusionsPhysician recommendation and app integration enable behavioral engagement and promote well-being among chronically ill patients. It is thus important to take social and app-related factors into consideration during and after the development of mHealth apps.

Careful considerations for mHealth app development: lessons learned from QuestExplore

BackgroundMobile health (mHealth) applications (app) have proven to be useful in gathering symptom data for a variety of populations living with chronic and serious illnesses. These mHealth tools have been built for a variety of populations but can quickly lose their novelty over time due to the lack of changes and engagement between the mHealth tool and the user. High costs, constantly changing timelines, and difficulties in building compliant data storage systems are some of the reasons why mHealth development and implementation can be a challenge.MethodsOur team’s tool, QuestExplore (QE), was built in collaboration with healthcare providers, child-life specialists, a music therapist, mobile app developers, data specialists, cyber security specialists, researchers, and children living with chronic illnesses alongside their families. Through this process, our team learned various ways to reduce costs, streamline the app development process, and build compliant data storage systems. In addition, our frequent interactions with stakeholders provided us with the ability to continuously make improvements, to build an engaging mHealth app.ResultsBased upon our findings, our team needed to include prompting, condensing, gamification, data visualizations, and an engaging user design in the remodel of QE. Through a three-stage process of redesigning our previous symptom monitoring apps, QE was developed to better communicate between our users and their providers, with the overall hope of improving symptom management of these children.ConclusionsIn the paper, we aim to explain how our team developed QE with feedback from our stakeholders, while also continuously improving our development process through the lessons we gained through the app’s development. QE is now being used in both Duke University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and will soon be implemented in Amsterdam University Medical Center.

Development, usability and quality evaluation of the resilient mobile application for women with breast cancer.

IntroductionMental health problems as a consequence of cancer lower the quality of life of cancer patients. Despite increasing studies of breast cancer‐focused mobile health applications (m‐Health apps), there is less research on breast cancer patients' quality of life or well‐being. The purpose of this study is to develop and evaluate the usability and quality of an educational m‐Health app aimed at improving the resilience of breast cancer in women.MethodsThis study was conducted in four phases. It included extracting the requirements of the app through the nominal group technique. Based on these results, an m‐Health app was developed and evaluated in terms of usability and quality by two scales, System Usability Scale and Mobile App Rating Scale questionnaires, respectively. Finally, the role of patients' age and educational backgrounds in the use of the app was assessed. The relationship between learnability and usability of the app was measured by the T‐Test.ResultsThe app was developed with three user interfaces. Its usability developed from the patient's point of view scored a remarkable score of 83.20 with a 95% confidence interval. This value was too indicative of high satisfaction with the usefulness and the possibility of recommending it to other cancer survivors. The results of the quality evaluation from an expert's point of view showed that this app had good functionality. Evaluation of the role of demographic information in the use of the app showed that it can be used for all age groups with different levels of education. The app did not differ significantly between learnability and usability.ConclusionThe development of m‐Health apps, based on usability principles that are suitable for all age groups with different levels of education, is welcomed by cancer patients.

Mobile Applications for Health and Wellness: A Systematic Review

Mobile health (mHealth) apps show potential contributions as interactive systems for managing users' health conditions. They are also used to improve health habits using behaviour change strategies. However, the trends, effectiveness, and design practices of these apps in terms of behaviour change are unclear yet. With a collaboration between researchers, domain experts, interactive systems developers and professionals, this paper aims to fill this gap by systematically investigating 70 mHealth apps using two popular behaviour change frameworks, namely App Behaviour Change Scale (ABACUS) and the Persuasive System Design (PSD) model. The study investigates the most common strategies and how these strategies were designed and implemented in the apps to achieve the targeted design objectives. Furthermore, the study evaluates apps' behaviour change potential using the behaviour Change Score (BCS), a measure we introduced to evaluate how the apps employ behaviour change strategies. The results show that 1) Journaling is the most common category of apps. 2) the most employed strategies are Self-monitoring, Customize and Personalize, and Reminders. And 3) there is a positive correlation between apps' ranks (based on ratings and installation) and the BCS score of most strategies. Based on our findings, we offer recommendations for designing and developing mHealth apps and present opportunities for future work in this area.

Functional and Technical Aspects of Self-management mHealth Apps: Systematic App Search and Literature Review.

BackgroundAlthough the past decade has witnessed the development of many self-management mobile health (mHealth) apps that enable users to monitor their health and activities independently, there is a general lack of empirical evidence on the functional and technical aspects of self-management mHealth apps from a software engineering perspective.ObjectiveThis study aims to systematically identify the characteristics and challenges of self-management mHealth apps, focusing on functionalities, design, development, and evaluation methods, as well as to specify the differences and similarities between published research papers and commercial and open-source apps.MethodsThis research was divided into 3 main phases to achieve the expected goal. The first phase involved reviewing peer-reviewed academic research papers from 7 digital libraries, and the second phase involved reviewing and evaluating apps available on Android and iOS app stores using the Mobile Application Rating Scale. Finally, the third phase involved analyzing and evaluating open-source apps from GitHub.ResultsIn total, 52 research papers, 42 app store apps, and 24 open-source apps were analyzed, synthesized, and reported. We found that the development of self-management mHealth apps requires significant time, effort, and cost because of their complexity and specific requirements, such as the use of machine learning algorithms, external services, and built-in technologies. In general, self-management mHealth apps are similar in their focus, user interface components, navigation and structure, services and technologies, authentication features, and architecture and patterns. However, they differ in terms of the use of machine learning, processing techniques, key functionalities, inference of machine learning knowledge, logging mechanisms, evaluation techniques, and challenges.ConclusionsSelf-management mHealth apps may offer an essential means of managing users’ health, expecting to assist users in continuously monitoring their health and encourage them to adopt healthy habits. However, developing an efficient and intelligent self-management mHealth app with the ability to reduce resource consumption and processing time, as well as increase performance, is still under research and development. In addition, there is a need to find an automated process for evaluating and selecting suitable machine learning algorithms for the self-management of mHealth apps. We believe that these issues can be avoided or significantly reduced by using a model-driven engineering approach with a decision support system to accelerate and ameliorate the development process and quality of self-management mHealth apps.

The Quality of Indian Obesity-Related mHealth Apps: PRECEDE-PROCEED Model-Based Content Analysis.

BackgroundThe prevalence of obesity in India is increasing at an alarming rate. Obesity-related mHealth apps have proffered an exciting opportunity to remotely deliver obesity-related information. This opportunity raises the question of whether such apps are truly effective.ObjectiveThe aim of this study was to identify existing obesity-related mHealth apps in India and evaluate the potential of the apps’ contents to promote health behavior change. This study also aimed to discover the general quality of obesity-related mHealth apps.MethodsA systematic search for obesity-related mHealth apps was conducted in both the Google Play Store and the Apple App Store. The features and quality of the sample apps were assessed using the Mobile Application Rating Scale (MARS) and the potential of the sample apps’ contents to promote health behavior change was assessed using the PRECEDE-PROCEED Model (PPM).ResultsA total of 13 apps (11 from the Google Play Store and 2 from the Apple App Store) were considered eligible for the study. The general quality of the 13 apps assessed using MARS resulted in mean scores ranging from 1.8 to 3.7. The bivariate Pearson correlation between the MARS rating and app user rating failed to establish statistically significant results. The multivariate regression analysis result indicated that the PPM factors are significant determinants of health behavior change (F3,9=63.186; P<.001) and 95.5% of the variance (R2=0.955; P<.001) in the dependent variable (health behavior change) can be explained by the independent variables (PPM factors).ConclusionsIn general, mHealth apps are found to be more effective when they are based on theory. The presence of PPM factors in an mHealth app can greatly influence the likelihood of health behavior change among users. So, we suggest mHealth app developers consider this to develop efficient apps. Also, mHealth app developers should consider providing health information from credible sources and indicating the sources of the information, which will increase the perceived credibility of the apps among the users. We strongly recommend health professionals and health organizations be involved in the development of mHealth apps. Future research should include mHealth app users to understand better the apps’ effectiveness in bringing about health behavior change.

276 Safety of Maintaining Elective and Emergency Surgery During the COVID-19 Pandemic with the Introduction of an Innovative Protected Elective Surgical Unit (PESU): A Cross-Specialty Evaluation of 30-Day Outcomes in 9925 Patients Undergoing Surgery in a University Health Board

Abstract Aim High quality mobile health applications (mhealth apps) have the potential to enhance the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of burns. The primary aim of this study was to evaluate whether the quality of mhealth apps for burns care is being adequately assessed. The secondary aim was to determine whether these apps meet UK regulatory standards. Method We searched AMED, BNI, CINAHL, Cochrane library, Embase, Emcare, Medline and PsychInfo to identify studies assessing mhealth app quality for burns. The PRISMA reporting guideline was adhered to. Two independent reviewers screened s to identify relevant studies. We analysed whether seven established domains of mhealth app quality were assessed: design, information/content, usability, functionality, ethical issues, security/privacy, and user-perceived value. Results Of the 28 included studies, none assessed all seven domains of quality. Design was assessed in 4/28 studies; information/content in 26/28 studies; usability in 12/28 studies; functionality in 10/28 studies; ethical issues were never assessed in any studies; security/privacy was not assessed; subjective assessment was made in 9/28 studies. 17/28 studies included apps that met the definition of ‘medical device’ according to MHRA guidance, yet only one app was appropriately certified with the UK Conformity Assessed (UKCA) mark. Conclusions The quality of mHealth apps for burns are not being adequately assessed. The majority of apps should be considered medical devices according to UK standards, but only one was appropriately certified. Regulatory bodies should support mhealth app developers, so as to improve quality control whilst simultaneously fostering innovation.

1 Mobile Health Apps in Burns: Where Is the Quality Control?

Abstract Aim High quality mobile health applications (mhealth apps) have the potential to enhance the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of burns. The primary aim of this study was to evaluate whether the quality of mhealth apps for burns care is being adequately assessed. The secondary aim was to determine whether these apps meet UK regulatory standards. Method We searched AMED, BNI, CINAHL, Cochrane library, Embase, Emcare, Medline and PsychInfo to identify studies assessing mhealth app quality for burns. The PRISMA reporting guideline was adhered to. Two independent reviewers screened s to identify relevant studies. We analysed whether seven established domains of mhealth app quality were assessed: design, information/content, usability, functionality, ethical issues, security/privacy, and user-perceived value. Results Of the 28 included studies, none assessed all seven domains of quality. Design was assessed in 4/28 studies; information/content in 26/28 studies; usability in 12/28 studies; functionality in 10/28 studies; ethical issues were never assessed in any studies; security/privacy was not assessed; subjective assessment was made in 9/28 studies. 17/28 studies included apps that met the definition of ‘medical device’ according to MHRA guidance, yet only one app was appropriately certified with the UK Conformity Assessed (UKCA) mark. Conclusions The quality of mHealth apps for burns are not being adequately assessed. The majority of apps should be considered medical devices according to UK standards, but only one was appropriately certified. Regulatory bodies should support mhealth app developers, so as to improve quality control whilst simultaneously fostering innovation.

Evaluation of mHealth Apps for Diverse, Low-Income Patient Populations: Framework Development and Application Study.

BackgroundThe use of mobile technology or smartphones has grown exponentially in the United States, allowing more individuals than ever internet access. This access has been especially critical to households earning less than US $30,000, the majority of whom indicate that smartphones are their main source of internet access. The increasing ubiquity of smartphones and virtual care promises to offset some of the health disparities that cut through the United States. However, disparities cannot be addressed if the medical information offered though smartphones is not accessible or reliable.ObjectiveThis study seeks to create a framework to review the strengths and weaknesses of mobile Health (mHealth) apps for diverse, low-income populations.MethodsFocusing on smoking cessation, diabetes management, and medication adherence as models of disease management, we describe the process for selecting, evaluating, and obtaining patient feedback on mHealth apps.ResultsThe top 2 scoring apps in each category were QuitNow! and Smoke Free-Quit Smoking Now for smoking cessation, Glucosio and MyNetDiary for diabetes management, and Medisafe and MyMeds for medication adherence.ConclusionsWe believe that this framework will prove useful for future mHealth app development, and clinicians and patient advisory groups in connecting culturally, educationally, and socioeconomically appropriate mHealth apps with low-income, diverse communities and thus work to bridge health disparities.

Pediatric apps: what are they for? A scoping review.

In recent years, there has been a surge in the development of mHealth apps. Nevertheless, there are no scoping reviews that analyze the scientific peer-reviewed articles of these tools. This research systematically reviews the scientific literature published on health apps targeting children in peer-reviewed journals. It aims to answer four questions: what is the primary purpose of these apps; for what medical specialties and main topics were they developed; whom do they target; and how they were analyzed. The study followed PRISMA methodology, and the search process used the Web of Science Core Collection. The selected terms for the search were "pediatr*" and "app." The initial search resulted in 303 papers which, after applying filters, excluded 187 papers. In the end, 116 articles were deemed appropriate for addressing our research questions and were thoroughly reviewed. The primary purpose of pediatric health apps is to support clinical decision-making, patient education, and patient self-management. The most frequent topics covered are cancer, obesity, and asthma. Hematological oncology and endocrinology are the most frequent medical specialties addressed. The apps mainly target children, their caregivers, or both groups. Most of the apps were analyzed using observational studies, predominantly conducted in the USA, with an average participant sample size of 842. No analyses of development costs were found. These findings can be helpful for the development of future pediatric health apps. What is Known: • Health care has become increasingly digital due to digital health technologies, which have helped to expand the scope of health care. • Digital health technology can be used to improve the health of children. • The increasing availability of smartphones for children and families may enable the use of apps to deliver, promote, and sustain interventions which could lead to long-term improvements in health. What is New: • The most frequent topics covered were cancer, obesity, and asthma. Hematology-oncology and endocrinology were the most frequent medical specialties addressed. • The principal aims of the pediatric health apps were to facilitate clinical decision support, patient education, and patient self-management. • The apps mainly targeted children, their caregivers, or both groups. • Most of them had been analyzed using observational studies.

Efficacy, Effectiveness, and Quality of Resilience-Building Mobile Health Apps for Military, Veteran, and Public Safety Personnel Populations: Scoping Literature Review and App Evaluation.

BackgroundMilitary members (MMs) and public safety personnel (PSP) are vulnerable to occupational stress injuries because of their job demands. When MMs and PSP transition out of these professions, they may continue to experience mental health challenges. The development and implementation of resilience-building mobile health (mHealth) apps as an emergent mental health intervention platform has allowed for targeted, cost-effective, and easily accessible treatment when in-person therapy may be limited or unavailable. However, current mHealth app development is not regulated, and often lacks both clear evidence-based research and the input of health care professionals.ObjectiveThis study aims to evaluate the evidence-based quality, efficacy, and effectiveness of resilience-building mobile apps targeted toward the MMs, PSP, and veteran populations via a scoping literature review of the current evidence base regarding resilience apps for these populations and an evaluation of free resilience apps designed for use among these populations.MethodsThe studies were selected using a comprehensive search of MEDLINE, CINAHL Plus, PsycINFO, SocINDEX, Academic Search Complete, Embase, and Google and were guided by PRISMA-ScR (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews). A narrative synthesis of the resulting papers was performed. The Alberta Rating Index for Apps was used to conduct a review of each of the identified apps. The inclusion criteria consisted of apps that were free to download in either the Google Play Store or the Apple App Store; updated within the last 3 years; available in English and in Canada; and intended for use by MMs, veterans, and PSP.ResultsIn total, 22 apps met the inclusion criteria for evaluation. The resilience strategies offered by most apps included psychoeducation, mindfulness, cognitive behavioral therapy, and acceptance and commitment therapy. Overall, 50% (11/22) of apps had been tested in randomized controlled trials, 7 (32%) apps had been evaluated using other research methods, and 5 (23%) apps had not been studied. Using the Alberta Rating Index for Apps, the app scores ranged from 37 to 56 out of 72, with higher rated apps demonstrating increased usability and security features.ConclusionsThe mHealth apps reviewed are well-suited to providing resilience strategies for MMs, PSP, and veterans. They offer easy accessibility to evidence-based tools while working to encourage the use of emotional and professional support with safety in mind. Although not intended to function as a substitute for professional services, research has demonstrated that mHealth apps have the potential to foster a significant reduction in symptom severity for posttraumatic stress disorder, depression, anxiety, and other mental health conditions. In clinical practice, apps can be used to supplement treatment and provide clients with population-specific confidential tools to increase engagement in the treatment process.

Piloting an Innovative Concept of e-Mental Health and mHealth Workshops With Medical Students Using a Participatory Co-design Approach and App Prototyping: Case Study.

BackgroundMedical students show low levels of e–mental health literacy. Moreover, there is a high prevalence of common mental illnesses among medical students. Mobile health (mHealth) apps can be used to maintain and promote medical students’ well-being. To date, the potential of mHealth apps for promoting mental health among medical students is largely untapped because they seem to lack familiarity with mHealth. In addition, little is known about medical students’ preferences regarding mHealth apps for mental health promotion. There is a need for guidance on how to promote competence-based learning on mHealth apps in medical education.ObjectiveThe aim of this case study is to pilot an innovative concept for an educative workshop following a participatory co-design approach and to explore medical students’ preferences and ideas for mHealth apps through the design of a hypothetical prototype.MethodsWe conducted a face-to-face co-design workshop within an elective subject with 26 participants enrolled at a medical school in Germany on 5 consecutive days in early March 2020. The aim of the workshop was to apply the knowledge acquired from the lessons on e–mental health and mHealth app development. Activities during the workshop included group work, plenary discussions, storyboarding, developing personas (prototypical users), and designing prototypes of mHealth apps. The workshop was documented in written and digitalized form with the students’ permission.ResultsThe participants’ feedback suggests that the co-design workshop was well-received. The medical students presented a variety of ideas for the design of mHealth apps. Among the common themes that all groups highlighted in their prototypes were personalization, data security, and the importance of scientific evaluation.ConclusionsOverall, this case study indicates the feasibility and acceptance of a participatory design workshop for medical students. The students made suggestions for improvements at future workshops (eg, use of free prototype software, shift to e-learning, and more time for group work). Our results can be (and have already been) used as a starting point for future co-design workshops to promote competence-based collaborative learning on digital health topics in medical education.

Is the Quality of Mobile Health Applications for Burns Being Adequately Assessed?

High-quality mobile health applications (mHealth apps) have the potential to enhance the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of burns. The primary aim of this study was to evaluate whether the quality of mHealth apps for burns care is being adequately assessed. The secondary aim was to determine whether these apps meet regulatory standards in the United Kingdom. We searched AMED, BNI, CINAHL, Cochrane Library, Embase, Emcare, Medline, and PsychInfo to identify studies assessing mHealth app quality for burns. The PRISMA reporting guideline was adhered to. Two independent reviewers screened abstracts to identify relevant studies. The quality of identified studies was assessed according to the framework proposed by Nouri et al, including design, information/content, usability, functionality, ethical issues, security/privacy, and user-perceived value. Of the 28 included studies, none assessed all seven domains of quality. Design was assessed in 4 of 28 studies; information/content in 26 of 28 studies; usability in 12 of 28 studies; functionality in 10 of 28 studies; ethical issues were never assessed in any studies; security/privacy was not assessed; subjective assessment was made in 9 of 28 studies. About 17 of 28 studies included apps that met the definition of "medical device" according to Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency guidance, yet only one app was appropriately certified with the UK Conformity Assessed mark. The quality of mHealth apps for burns is not being adequately assessed. The majority of apps should be considered medical devices according to UK standards, yet only one was appropriately certified. Regulatory bodies should support mHealth app developers, so as to improve quality control while simultaneously fostering innovation.

An mHealth App to Support Fertility Patients Navigating the World of Infertility (Infotility): Development and Usability Study.

BackgroundThe experience of infertility and its treatment engenders considerable stress and is often described as an emotional rollercoaster. A mobile health (mHealth) app may be a novel solution to address the psychoeducational and psychosocial support needs of fertility patients because of its potential to reduce stress and increase patient empowerment. There are a few fertility-related apps that provide information and support to both men and women undergoing fertility treatment; however, none have documented their development and evaluation process.ObjectiveThis study aims to describe the development and evaluation process of a bilingual mHealth app, Infotility, designed to meet the psychoeducational and psychosocial support needs of men and women undergoing fertility treatment.MethodsTo develop the Infotility app, we adhered to the Medical Research Council guidelines for the development and evaluation of complex interventions. First, we conducted literature reviews and needs assessment surveys of fertility patients and health care providers who informed the content and design of the app. Second, we tested the intervention with a small group of end users who provided feedback on the design and appropriateness of the app’s content. Third, we evaluated the uptake and usability of the app using a pre-post study design. Finally, we updated the app’s content based on participants’ feedback and searched for partners to disseminate the app to the broader public.ResultsThis study is the first to describe the development and evaluation process of an mHealth app for men and women undergoing fertility treatment. The app met its goal in providing fertility patients with a clinician-approved, portable resource for reliable information about medical and psychosocial aspects of infertility and its treatments and a confidential peer support forum monitored by trained peer supporters. Participants rated the engagement, functionality, information, and esthetics of the app positively, with an overall app quality mean score of 3.75 (SD 0.53) and a star rating of 3.43 (SD 0.75), with a total possible score and star rating of 5.00.ConclusionsBy documenting the systematic development and evaluation of the mHealth app for men and women undergoing fertility treatment, this paper can facilitate the replication of the study intervention and the development of similar mHealth apps.