Title

Patients’ Perceptions of mHealth Apps: Meta-Ethnographic Review of Qualitative Studies

Authors

·       Vo V.^a,

·       Auroy L.^b,

·       Sarradon-Eck A.^c, d

Author Affiliations

·       ^a Department of Epidemiology, Columbia University, New York, NY, United States

·       ^b Université Grenoble Alpes, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Sciences Po Grenoble Pacte, Grenoble, France

·       ^c Aix-Marseille Université, Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale, Institut de Recherche pour le Développement, Sciences Economiques & Sociales de la Santé & Traitement de l'Information Médicale, Marseille, France

·       ^d Institut Paoli-Calmettes, CanBios UMR1252, Marseille, France

Publication Information

JMIR Publications, 2019.

Date of Publication

July 2019

Series/Report no.

JMIR mHealth and uHealth, Vol.7, Iss.7

Key words

Apps; MHealth; Mobile apps; Mobile phone; Qualitative studies; Systematic review

Abstract

Background: Mobile phones and tablets are being increasingly integrated into the daily lives of many people worldwide. Mobile health (mHealth) apps have promising possibilities for optimizing health systems, improving care and health, and reducing health disparities. However, health care apps often seem to be underused after being downloaded.

Objective: The aim of this paper is to reach a better understanding of people’s perceptions, beliefs, and experience of mHealth apps as well as to determine how highly they appreciate these tools.

Methods: A systematic review was carried out on qualitative studies published in English, on patients’ perception of mHealth apps between January 2013 and June 2018. Data extracted from these articles were synthesized using a meta-ethnographic approach and an interpretative method.

Results: A total of 356 articles were selected for screening, and 43 of them met the inclusion criteria. Most of the articles included populations inhabiting developed countries and were published during the last 2 years, and most of the apps on which they focused were designed to help patients with chronic diseases. In this review, we present the strengths and weaknesses of using mHealth apps from the patients’ point of view. The strengths can be categorized into two main aspects: engaging patients in their own health care and increasing patient empowerment. The weaknesses pointed out by the participants focus on four main topics: trustworthiness, appropriateness, personalization, and accessibility of these tools.

Conclusions: Although many of the patients included in the studies reviewed considered mHealth apps as a useful complementary tool, some major problems arise in their optimal use, including the need for more closely tailored designs, the cost of these apps, the validity of the information delivered, and security and privacy issues. Many of these issues could be resolved with more support from health providers. In addition, it would be worth developing standards to ensure that these apps provide patients accurate evidence-based information.

주요 내용

  모바일 헬스(mHealth) 앱은 의료 및 건강을 개선하여 건강 격차를 줄이는데 도움을 주는 역할을 한다. 그러나 모바일 헬스(mHealth) 앱은 종종 다운로드 이후 사용되지 않는 것으로 나타났다. 본 연구의 목적은 모바일 헬스(mHealth) 앱에 대한 사람들의 인식, 신뢰 및 경험을 더 잘 이해하고 건강 관리를 위해 이러한 매체들을 사용하는 것에 있어 얼마나 가치 있게 평가하는지 확인하는 것이다. 이를 위해 2013년 1월부터 2018년 6월 사이에 환자의 모바일 헬스(mHealth) 앱에 대한 인식에 대해 영어로 출판된 질적 연구들을 체계적으로 검토하였다. 총 356편의 논문이 심사 대상으로 선정되었으며, 이 중 43편이 선정 기준에 부합하여 분석되었다. 대부분의 논문은 선진국에 거주하는 인구를 대상으로 하였고, 지난 2년 동안 게시되었다. 그리고 대부분의 앱은 만성 질환 환자를 돕기 위해 설계되었다. 검토된 논문들에 포함된 많은 환자들이 모바일 헬스(mHealth) 앱을 유용한 보완적 도구(complementary tool)로 간주했지만, 보다 정밀한 환자 맞춤형 디자인, 제공되는 정보의 신뢰성, 개인 정보 보안 문제 등을 면밀히 다뤄야 할 필요성이 있다는 결론이 제기된다.

ISSN

2291-5222

DOI

10.2196/13817