Healthc Inform Res.  2018 Jul;24(3):207-226. 10.4258/hir.2018.24.3.207.

Effectiveness of Mobile Health Application Use to Improve Health Behavior Changes: A Systematic Review of Randomized Controlled Trials

• Han M
• Lee E

• KMID: 2418171
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.4258/hir.2018.24.3.207

Abstract

OBJECTIVES
The purpose of this study was to examine the effectiveness of mobile health applications in changing health-related behaviors and clinical health outcomes.
METHODS
A systematic review was conducted in this study. We conducted a comprehensive bibliographic search of articles on health behavior changes related to the use of mobile health applications in peer-reviewed journals published between January 1, 2000 and May 31, 2017. We used databases including CHINAHL, Ovid-Medline, EMBASE, and PubMed. The risk of bias assessment of the retrieved articles was examined using the Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network.
RESULTS
A total of 20 articles met the inclusion criteria. Sixteen among 20 studies reported that applications have a positive impact on the targeted health behaviors or clinical health outcomes. In addition, most of the studies, which examined the satisfaction of participants, showed health app users have a statistically significant higher satisfaction.
CONCLUSIONS
Despite the high risk of bias, such as selection, performance, and detection, this systematic review found that the use of mobile health applications has a positive impact on health-related behaviors and clinical health outcomes. Application users were more satisfied with using mobile health applications to manage their health in comparison to users of conventional care.

Keyword

Health Behavior; Mobile Applications; Smartphone; Review; Mobile Health

MeSH Terms

Bias (Epidemiology)
Health Behavior*
Mobile Applications
Smartphone
Telemedicine*

Figure

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  Figure 1 PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) flow diagram.

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  Figure 2 Summary of risk of bias.

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