As over 81% of Americans own a smartphone (Pew Research Center, 2019), mobile health applications (mHealth apps) are becoming part of novel and innovative research strategies with potential to positively impact health care management and outcomes. In 2018, the average cost of developing and launching an mHealth app was $425,000 USD (Muoio, 2018). To conserve costs, health researchers may opt to use one of over 325,000 commercially available mHealth apps (Research2Guidance, 2017). However, the wide variety of mHealth apps presents challenges when choosing an appropriate one for research purposes. These apps may target health care providers (e.g., an app that details medication information and side effects) or consumers/patients (e.g., an app that helps the user track daily steps taken). There is also a distinction between mobile health and wellness apps, and mobile medical apps. Health and wellness apps are used to facilitate healthy lifestyle management and enhance well-being.Through a combination of attachable or Bluetooth-connected accessories (e.g., sensors), medical apps transform the built-in mobile device features (e.g., camera, speaker, light) into diagnostic tools, which can then be used to diagnose, track, treat, and facilitate communication about health and disease (U.S. Food and Drug Administration, 2018a).
AbstractResearch using mHealth apps has the potential to positively impact health care management and outcomes. However, choosing an appropriate mHealth app may be challenging for the health researcher. The author team used existing evaluation tools, checklists, and guidelines to assess selected mHealth apps to identify strengths, challenges, and potential gaps within existing evaluation tools. They identified specific evaluation tool components, questions, and items most effective in examining app content, usability, and features, including literacy demand and cultural appropriateness; technical information; practical aspects of app functionality; and evolving capabilities of mobile medical apps. Challenges included the subjective nature of the results, time required to complete the evaluation, lack of emphasis on evidence-based content, and inadequate tool flexibility. Health researchers considering the integration of mobile apps into research will benefit from evaluation tools that assess both evidence-based content and the ability of the mobile app to securely integrate with other digital technologies involved in patient care. Next steps will include the involvement of health care providers and professionals, including nurses a wide range of expertise, to develop an mHealth evaluation tool that focuses on identifying quality, evidence-based mobile apps into patient outcomes research.
K E Y W O R D Sevaluation, mHealth, mobile health, mobile phone