Assessment of the Efficacy, Safety, and Effectiveness of Weight Control and Obesity Management Mobile Health Interventions: Systematic Review

Puig, Elisa Puigdomenech; Robles, Noemí; Saigí-Rubió, Francesc; Zamora, Alberto; Moharra, Montse; Paluzié, G.; Balfegó, Mariona; Cambra, Guillem Cuatrecasas; Garcı́a-Lorda, Pilar; Carrión, Carme

doi:10.2196/12612

Cited by 29 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 74 publications

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“…The use of mobile apps aimed at promoting physical activity linked to a healthy diet could further health education and help reduce non-communicable disease rates or, at the very least, enable monitoring and control of these diseases. Numerous reviews have already been carried out to determine the efficacy of health apps for weight reduction [8,9]. However, more interventions are necessary as well as subsequent reviews of apps that, either specifically or within a larger study, monitor physical activity to determine whether this increases/is maintained over time in response to appropriate motivation, given the risk that physical activity levels may taper off once an intervention ends [10,11].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Using Mobile Applications to Increase Physical Activity: A Systematic Review

Pradal-Cano

Lozano-Ruiz

Pereyra‐Rodriguez

et al. 2020

IJERPH

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Unhealthy diet and physical inactivity—major risk factors for the main non-communicable diseases—can be addressed by mobile health applications. Using an evidence-based systematic review design, we analysed studies on mobile applications to foster physical activity to determine whether they met the objective of increasing adults’ physical activity. A bibliographic search was conducted in October 2020 using PubMed, Cochrane Library Plus, Biomed Central, Psychology Database, and SpringerLink, retrieving 191 articles. After titles and abstracts were reviewed, 149 articles were excluded, leaving 42 articles for a full-text review, of which 14 met the inclusion criteria. Despite differences in study duration, design, and variables, 13 of the 14 studies reported that applications were effective in increasing physical activity and healthy habits as dietary behaviour. However, further longer-term studies with larger samples are needed to confirm the effectiveness of mobile health applications in increasing physical activity.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Using Mobile Applications to Increase Physical Activity: A Systematic Review

Pradal-Cano

Lozano-Ruiz

Pereyra‐Rodriguez

et al. 2020

IJERPH

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“…A modified Delphi process was used with the domains and criteria that had been identified in a systematic review [ 16 ] in order to reach a consensus on criteria to be included in the EVALAPPS assessment instrument. The Delphi process is used to achieve expert consensus on a specific theme by voting and providing feedback through several consultation rounds [ 17 ].…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Development of the initial set of dimensions and criteria was based on (1) a review of criteria used by several mHealth assessment tools that was conducted through database searches—PubMed, PsycINFO, Scopus, Trip Medical Database, Clinical Trials Register, and Cochrane—and complemented with a manual search (up to May 2018) ( Multimedia Appendix 1 ) and (2) evidence gathered by the EVALAPPS team through a systematic review [ 16 ] to identify efficacy, safety, and potential effectiveness criteria used to assess weight, overweight, and obesity management in mHealth interventions.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The main objective of the EVALAPPS project is to design and validate an instrument to assess the efficacy, safety, and potential effectiveness of health-related apps that are intended to manage weight and prevent obesity. A systematic review [ 16 ] to identify efficacy criteria used in previous validation studies has been carried out and a set of criteria were identified. These criteria, together with those defined by recently published frameworks for mHealth assessment, require validation and prioritization in order for the EVALAPPS instrument to be designed.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Evaluation Criteria for Weight Management Apps: Validation Using a Modified Delphi Process

Robles¹,

Puig²,

Gómez-Calderón³

et al. 2020

JMIR Mhealth Uhealth

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Background The use of apps for weight management has increased over recent years; however, there is a lack of evidence regarding the efficacy and safety of these apps. The EVALAPPS project will develop and validate an assessment instrument to specifically assess the safety and efficacy of weight management apps. Objective The aim of this study was to reach a consensus among stakeholders on a comprehensive set of criteria to guide development of the EVALAPPS assessment instrument. A modified Delphi process was used in order to verify the robustness of the criteria that had been identified through a literature review and to prioritize a set of the identified criteria. Methods Stakeholders (n=31) were invited to participate in a 2-round Delphi process with 114 initial criteria that had been identified from the literature. In round 1, participants rated criteria according to relevance on a scale from 0 (“I suggest this criterion is excluded”) to 5 (“This criterion is extremely relevant”). A criterion was accepted if the median rating was 4 or higher and if the relative intraquartile range was equal to 0.67 or lower. In round 2, participants were asked about criteria that had been discarded in round 1. A prioritization strategy was used to identify crucial criteria according to (1) the importance attributed by participants (criteria with a mean rating of 4.00 or higher), (2) the level of consensus (criteria with a score of 4 or 5 by at least 80% of the participants). Results The response rate was 83.9% (26/31) in round 1 and 90.3% (28/31) in round 2. A total of 107 out of 114 criteria (93.9%) were accepted by consensus—105 criteria in round 1 and 2 criteria in round 2. After prioritization, 53 criteria were deemed crucial. These related mainly to the dimensions of security and privacy (13/53, 24.5%) and usability (9/53, 17.0%), followed by activity data (5/53, 9.4%), clinical effectiveness (5/53, 9.4%), and reliability (5/53, 9.4%). Conclusions Results confirmed the robustness of the criteria that were identified, with those relating to security and privacy being deemed most relevant by stakeholders. Additionally, a specific set of criteria based on health indicators (activity data, physical state data, and personal data) was also prioritized.

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“…The prevention and management of chronic diseases through mHealth strategies has increased over recent years, mainly in high-income countries. However, there is still a lack of evidence for its efficacy, effectiveness, and safety [ 20 ]. Attempts have been made to improve the effective surveillance and control of infectious disease outbreaks [ 21 ], but very few interventions have been implemented in LMICs where sNTDs are endemic.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mobile Health Strategies to Tackle Skin Neglected Tropical Diseases With Recommendations From Innovative Experiences: Systematic Review

Carrión¹,

Robles²,

Solà-Morales³

et al. 2020

JMIR Mhealth Uhealth

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Background Neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) represent a diverse group of 20 communicable diseases that occur in tropical and subtropical areas in 149 countries, affecting over 1 billion people and costing developing economies billions of dollars every year. Within these diseases, those that present lesions on the skin surface are classified as skin NTDs (sNTDs). Mobile health interventions are currently being used worldwide to manage skin diseases and can be a good strategy in the epidemiological and clinical management of sNTDs. Objective We aimed to analyze existing evidence about mobile health interventions to control and manage sNTDs in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) and make recommendations for what should be considered in future interventions. Methods A systematic review was conducted of the MEDLINE, Embase, and Scopus databases over 10 years up to April 30, 2020. All types of clinical studies were considered. Data were synthesized into evidence tables. Apps were selected through a comprehensive systematic search in the Google Play Store and Apple App Store conducted between March 20 and April 15, 2020. Results From 133 potentially relevant publications, 13 studies met our criteria (9.8%). These analyzed eight different interventions (three SMS text messaging interventions and five app interventions). Six of the 13 (46%) studies were community-based cross-sectional studies intended to epidemiologically map a specific disease, mainly lymphatic filariasis, but also cutaneous leishmaniasis, leprosy, and NTDs, as well as sNTDs in general. Most of the studies were considered to have a high (5/13, 39%) or moderate (4/13, 31%) risk of bias. Fifteen apps were identified in the Google Play Store, of which three were also in the Apple App Store. Most of the apps (11/15, 73%) were targeted at health care professionals, with only four targeted at patients. The apps focused on scabies (3/15, 20%), lymphatic filariasis (3/15, 20%), cutaneous leishmaniasis (1/15, 7%), leprosy (1/15, 7%), yaws and Buruli ulcer (1/15, 7%), tropical diseases including more than one sNTDs (3/15, 20%), and NTDs including sNTDs (2/15, 13%). Only 1 (7%) app focused on the clinical management of sNTDs. Conclusions All mobile health interventions that were identified face technological, legal, final user, and organizational issues. There was a remarkable heterogeneity among studies, and the majority had methodological limitations that leave considerable room for improvement. Based on existing evidence, eight recommendations have been made for future interventions.

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Assessment of the Efficacy, Safety, and Effectiveness of Weight Control and Obesity Management Mobile Health Interventions: Systematic Review

Cited by 29 publications

References 74 publications

Using Mobile Applications to Increase Physical Activity: A Systematic Review

Using Mobile Applications to Increase Physical Activity: A Systematic Review

Evaluation Criteria for Weight Management Apps: Validation Using a Modified Delphi Process

Mobile Health Strategies to Tackle Skin Neglected Tropical Diseases With Recommendations From Innovative Experiences: Systematic Review

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