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Mobile Apps for the Management of Gastrointestinal Diseases: Systematic Search and Evaluation Within App Stores.
Messner, Eva-Maria; Sturm, Niklas; Terhorst, Yannik; Sander, Lasse B; Schultchen, Dana; Portenhauser, Alexandra; Schmidbaur, Simone; Stach, Michael; Klaus, Jochen; Baumeister, Harald; Walter, Benjamin M.
  • Messner EM; Department of Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, Institute of Psychology and Education, University of Ulm, Ulm, Germany.
  • Sturm N; Department of Internal Medicine I, University Hospital Ulm, Ulm, Germany.
  • Terhorst Y; Department of Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, Institute of Psychology and Education, University of Ulm, Ulm, Germany.
  • Sander LB; Department of Research Methods, Institute of Psychology and Education, University of Ulm, Ulm, Germany.
  • Schultchen D; Department of Rehabilitation Psychology and Psychotherapy, Institute of Psychology, Albert-Ludwigs-University Freiburg, Freiburg at Breisgau, Germany.
  • Portenhauser A; Department of Clinical and Health Psychology, Institute of Psychology and Education, University of Ulm, Ulm, Germany.
  • Schmidbaur S; Department of Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, Institute of Psychology and Education, University of Ulm, Ulm, Germany.
  • Stach M; Department of Internal Medicine I, University Hospital Ulm, Ulm, Germany.
  • Klaus J; Institute of Databases and Information Systems, University of Ulm, Ulm, Germany.
  • Baumeister H; Department of Internal Medicine I, University Hospital Ulm, Ulm, Germany.
  • Walter BM; Department of Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, Institute of Psychology and Education, University of Ulm, Ulm, Germany.
J Med Internet Res ; 24(10): e37497, 2022 10 05.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-2054760
ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND:

Gastrointestinal diseases are associated with substantial cost in health care. In times of the COVID-19 pandemic and further digitalization of gastrointestinal tract health care, mobile health apps could complement routine health care. Many gastrointestinal health care apps are already available in the app stores, but the quality, data protection, and reliability often remain unclear.

OBJECTIVE:

This systematic review aimed to evaluate the quality characteristics as well as the privacy and security measures of mobile health apps for the management of gastrointestinal diseases.

METHODS:

A web crawler systematically searched for mobile health apps with a focus on gastrointestinal diseases. The identified mobile health apps were evaluated using the Mobile Application Rating Scale (MARS). Furthermore, app characteristics, data protection, and security measures were collected. Classic user star rating was correlated with overall mobile health app quality.

RESULTS:

The overall quality of the mobile health apps (N=109) was moderate (mean 2.90, SD 0.52; on a scale ranging from 1 to 5). The quality of the subscales ranged from low (mean 1.89, SD 0.66) to good (mean 4.08, SD 0.57). The security of data transfer was ensured only by 11 (10.1%) mobile health apps. None of the mobile health apps had an evidence base. The user star rating did not correlate with the MARS overall score or with the individual subdimensions of the MARS (all P>.05).

CONCLUSIONS:

Mobile health apps might have a positive impact on diagnosis, therapy, and patient guidance in gastroenterology in the future. We conclude that, to date, data security and proof of efficacy are not yet given in currently available mobile health apps.
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Full text: Available Collection: International databases Database: MEDLINE Main subject: Telemedicine / Mobile Applications / Gastrointestinal Diseases / COVID-19 Type of study: Experimental Studies / Prognostic study / Reviews / Systematic review/Meta Analysis Limits: Humans Language: English Journal: J Med Internet Res Journal subject: Medical Informatics Year: 2022 Document Type: Article Affiliation country: 37497

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Full text: Available Collection: International databases Database: MEDLINE Main subject: Telemedicine / Mobile Applications / Gastrointestinal Diseases / COVID-19 Type of study: Experimental Studies / Prognostic study / Reviews / Systematic review/Meta Analysis Limits: Humans Language: English Journal: J Med Internet Res Journal subject: Medical Informatics Year: 2022 Document Type: Article Affiliation country: 37497