mHealth Apps for Self-Management of Cardiovascular Diseases: A Scoping Review

Abstract

The use of mHealth apps for the self-management of cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) is an increasing trend in patient-centered care. In this research, we conduct a scoping review of mHealth apps for CVD self-management within the period 2014 to 2021. Our review revolves around six main aspects of the current status of mHealth apps for CVD self-management: main CVDs managed, main app functionalities, disease stages managed, common approaches used for data extraction, analysis, management, common wearables used for CVD detection, monitoring and/or identification, and major challenges to overcome and future work remarks. Our review is based on Arksey and O’Malley’s methodological framework for conducting studies. Similarly, we adopted the PRISMA model for reporting systematic reviews and meta-analyses. Of the 442 works initially retrieved, the review comprised 38 primary studies. According to our results, the most common CVDs include arrhythmia (34%), heart failure (32%), and coronary heart disease (18%). Additionally, we found that the majority mHealth apps for CVD self-management can provide medical recommendations, medical appointments, reminders, and notifications for CVD monitoring. Main challenges in the use of mHealth apps for CVD self-management include overcoming patient reluctance to use the technology and achieving the interoperability of mHealth applications with other systems.

Patient and physician perspectives on the use and outcome measures of mHealth apps: Exploratory survey and focus group study

“…21 When evaluating the effect of a mHealth app, it is relatively easy to select clinical variables to measure; treatment adherence, medication management, physical activity levels and parameter monitoring are a select few clinical variables that can be measured with mHealth apps. 22 Parameter monitoring for a patient with CVD may include active minutes, burned calories, weight, heart rate, blood pressure, body temperature and early detection of atrial fibrillation, 22 but given the focus on engagement for mHealth apps, patient-important outcomes should also be incorporated. There are numerous Patient-Reported Experience Measures (PREMS) and Patient-Reported Outcome Measures (PROMS), often for specific conditions.…”

A Brief mHealth-Based Psychological Intervention in Emotion Regulation to Promote Positive Subjective Well-Being in Cardiovascular Disease Patients: A Non-Randomized Controlled Trial

“…The term mHealth (mobile health) refers to the use of mobile devices, tablets, health-related applications, and other wireless technologies in health services, medical care, and clinical practice [ 34 ]. The incorporation of mHealth strategies aims to facilitate prescribing, adherence, patient communication, and health outcomes [ 34 , 35 ].…”

“…The term mHealth (mobile health) refers to the use of mobile devices, tablets, health-related applications, and other wireless technologies in health services, medical care, and clinical practice [ 34 ]. The incorporation of mHealth strategies aims to facilitate prescribing, adherence, patient communication, and health outcomes [ 34 , 35 ]. Currently, it has stimulated the use of mHealth tools, especially for risk groups such as CVD patients that may have some difficulties attending regular hospital follow-ups [ 36 ].…”

Development and implementation of a national mobile health application: A case study from Brunei

“…Health promotion programmes with mobile app-based interventions have been shown to be effective in improving health promotion behaviours among the general population by providing feedback on the individual’s health status, and monitoring user’s health status or behaviour change [ 12 ]. The use of m-Health apps in managing NCDs range from monitoring of health parameters to in-app health coaching and counselling [ 13 ].…”