Title
Evaluating and selecting mobile health apps: strategies for healthcare providers and healthcare organizations
UMMS Affiliation
Department of Emergency Medicine; Department of Quantitative Health Sciences; Department of Medicine, Division of Preventive and Behavioral Medicine
Publication Date
2014-12-01
Document Type
Article
Disciplines
Behavioral Disciplines and Activities | Behavior and Behavior Mechanisms | Communication Technology and New Media | Community Health and Preventive Medicine | Health Communication | Health Information Technology | Health Services Administration | Preventive Medicine | Social Media | Translational Medical Research
Abstract
Mobile applications (apps) to improve health are proliferating, but before healthcare providers or organizations can recommend an app to the patients they serve, they need to be confident the app will be user-friendly and helpful for the target disease or behavior. This paper summarizes seven strategies for evaluating and selecting health-related apps: (1) Review the scientific literature, (2) Search app clearinghouse websites, (3) Search app stores, (4) Review app descriptions, user ratings, and reviews, (5) Conduct a social media query within professional and, if available, patient networks, (6) Pilot the apps, and (7) Elicit feedback from patients. The paper concludes with an illustrative case example. Because of the enormous range of quality among apps, strategies for evaluating them will be necessary for adoption to occur in a way that aligns with core values in healthcare, such as the Hippocratic principles of nonmaleficence and beneficence.
Keywords
Application, Health behavior, Health promotion, Mobile health, e-health
DOI of Published Version
10.1007/s13142-014-0293-9
Source
Transl Behav Med. 2014 Dec;4(4):363-71. doi: 10.1007/s13142-014-0293-9. Link to article on publisher's site
Journal/Book/Conference Title
Translational behavioral medicine
Related Resources
PubMed ID
25584085
Repository Citation
Boudreaux, Edwin D.; Waring, Molly E.; Hayes, Rashelle B.; Sadasivam, Rajani S.; Mullen, Sean; and Pagoto, Sherry L., "Evaluating and selecting mobile health apps: strategies for healthcare providers and healthcare organizations" (2014). Preventive and Behavioral Medicine Publications. 326.
https://escholarship.umassmed.edu/prevbeh_pp/326
