Prentice, Carley;
Peven, Kimberly;
Zhaunova, Liudmila;
Nayak, Vaaruni;
Radovic, Tara;
Klepchukova, Anna;
Potts, Henry WW;
(2024)
Methods for evaluating the efficacy and effectiveness of direct-to-consumer mobile health apps: a scoping review.
BMC Digital Health
, 2
, Article 31. 10.1186/s44247-024-00092-x.
Preview |
Text
Prentice Peven 2024 Methods for evaluating the effectiveness.pdf - Published Version Download (1MB) | Preview |
Abstract
Background: There is an evaluation crisis in mobile health (mHealth). The majority of mHealth apps are released with little evidence base. While many agree on the need for comprehensive evaluations to assess the efficacy and effectiveness of mHealth apps, the field is some way from achieving that. This scoping review describes the current state of direct-to-consumer mHealth app evaluations so as to inform how the situation can be improved. // Results: Findings showed a predominance of wellness management apps, focusing on fitness, diet, mental health, or other lifestyle factors. Evaluations were conducted by companies at varied financing stages, with a mix of start-ups, scale-ups, and public companies. Most studies employed full-scale or pilot randomised controlled trial designs. // Conclusions: Participant demographics indicate a need for more inclusive recruitment strategies around ethnicity and gender so as to avoid worsening health inequalities. Measurement tools varied widely, highlighting the lack of standardisation in assessing mHealth apps. Promoting evidence-based practices in digital health should be a priority for organisations in this space.
| Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Title: | Methods for evaluating the efficacy and effectiveness of direct-to-consumer mobile health apps: a scoping review |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| DOI: | 10.1186/s44247-024-00092-x |
| Publisher version: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/s44247-024-00092-x |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article's Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article's Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/. |
| Keywords: | Consumer health informatics, Digital health, Methods, Mobile apps |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Population Health Sciences > Institute of Health Informatics UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Population Health Sciences > Institute of Health Informatics > CHIME |
| URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10193850 |
Archive Staff Only
 |
View Item |
