Author contributions: Naeem F conceived the idea; Gire N helped with literature search on side effects of therapy and manuscript; Xiang S and Yang M helped with search of literature on side effects of internet and app use; Syed Y helped with security issues; Shokraneh F helped with the overall script; Adams C and Farooq S provided overall support and organized multiple discussions that lead to this paper. Conflict-of-interest statement:The authors have no conflict of interest to declare. AbstractRecent years have seen a rapidly increasing trend towards the delivery of health technology through mobile devices. Smartphones and tablet devices are thus becoming increasingly popular for accessing information and a wide range of services, including health care services. Modern mobile apps can be used for a variety of reasons, ranging from education for the patients and assistance to clinicians to delivery of interventions. Mobile phone apps have also been established to benefit patients in a scope of interventions across numerous medical specialties and treatment modalities. Medical apps have their advantages and disadvantages. It is important that clinicians have access to knowledge to make decisions regarding the use of medical apps on the basis of risk-benefit ratio. Mobile apps that deliver psycho social interventions offer unique challenges and opportunities. A number of reviews have highlighted the potential use of such apps. There is a need to EDITORIAL 187June 22, 2016|Volume 6|Issue 2|
The mobile Health offers great potential for delivery of Psycho-social Interventions. So far, the researchers have focused mainly on efficacy, and to some extent feasibility of Psycho-social Interventions. Poor reporting of development and initial testing has been highlighted in the recent published literature. This is not surprising considering the lack of guidance from the national regulatory agencies in developed countries. A lack of standard ways of development and testing of apps makes scientific evaluation of the intervention and replicability almost impossible. Replicabiliy is an essential component of good science. We are proposing a pathway to develop, test and report new mobile apps that deliver Psycho-social Intervention, that is based on current practices of approval of new drugs by the US, Food and Drug Administration (FDA). This proposed process consists of modifications in the current app development process, i.e., planning, alpha and beta testing. We are also suggesting an additional delta stage of testing. We note the advantages and limitations in using such approach.
BackgroundRandomized trials evaluating electronic Media (eMedia) delivery of interventions are increasingly frequent in mental health. Although a number of reviews have reported efficacy of these interventions, none has reviewed the type of eMedia interventions and quality of their description. We therefore decided to conduct a survey of eMedia-delivered interventions for schizophrenia.MethodsWe surveyed all relevant trials reliably identified in the Cochrane Schizophrenia Group’s comprehensive register of trials by authors working independently. Data were extracted regarding the size of the trial, interventions, outcomes and how well the intervention was described.ResultseMedia delivery of interventions is increasingly frequent in trials relevant to the care of people with schizophrenia. The trials varied considerably in sample sizes (mean =123, median =87, range =20–507), and interventions were diverse, rarely evaluating the same approaches and were poorly reported. This makes replication impossible. Outcomes in these studies are limited, have not been noted to be chosen by end users and seem unlikely to be easy to apply in routine care. No study reported on potential adverse effects or cost, end users satisfaction or ease of use. None of the papers mentioned the use of CONSORT eHealth guidelines.ConclusionThere is a need to improve reporting and testing of psychosocial interventions delivered by eMedia. New trials should comply with CONSORT eHealth guidance on design, conduct and reporting, and existing CONSORT should be updated regularly, as the field is constantly evolving.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.