Evidence map›Paper›PMID 26546039›Full record

ArticleJMIR mHealth and uHealth2015

Smartphone Apps for Schizophrenia: A Systematic Review.

Joseph Firth, John Torous

Open access · goldAbstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in JMIR mHealth and uHealth, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 156 papers, 16 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
156citing papers in PubMed, 16 pooled it
48.8field-weighted citation impact, top 1% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

156 citing papers in PubMed, 16 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 301 citations in OpenAlex.

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  3. Mend the Gap: Online User-Led Adjuvant Treatment for Psychosis: A Systematic Review on Recent Findings.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2025
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  8. Digital Patient Experience: Umbrella Systematic Review.Journal of medical Internet research · 2022
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96 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

2 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.

Joseph FirthInstitute of Brain, Behaviour and Mental Health, University of Manchester, Machester, United Kingdom.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-0618-2752
John TorousORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-5362-7937
Brigham and Women's Hospital · USUniversity of Manchester · GB

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundThere is increasing interest in using mobile technologies such as smartphones for improving the care of patients with schizophrenia. However, less is known about the current clinical evidence for the feasibility and effectiveness of smartphone apps in this population.

objectiveTo review the published literature of smartphone apps applied for the care of patients with schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders.

methodsAn electronic database search of Ovid MEDLINE, the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Health Technology Assessment Database, Allied and Complementary Medicine, Health and Psychosocial Instruments, PsycINFO, and Embase was conducted on May 24, 2015. All eligible studies were systematically reviewed, and proportional meta-analyses were applied to pooled data on recruitment, retention, and adherence to examine the overall feasibility of smartphone interventions for schizophrenia.

resultsOur search produced 226 results from which 7 eligible articles were identified, reporting on 5 studies of smartphone apps for patients with schizophrenia. All examined feasibility, and one assessed the preliminary efficacy of a smartphone intervention for schizophrenia. Study lengths varied between 6 and 130 days. Overall retention was 92% (95% CI 82-98%). Participants consistently used the smartphone apps on more than 85% of days during the study period, averaging 3.95 interactions per person per day. Furthermore, participants responded to 71.9% of automated prompts (95% CI 65.7-77.8%). Participants reported a range of potential benefits from the various interventions, and user experience was largely positive.

conclusionsAlthough small, the current published literature demonstrates strong evidence for the feasibility of using smartphones to enhance the care of people with schizophrenia. High rates of engagement and satisfaction with a broad range of apps suggest the nascent potential of this mobile technology. However, there remains limited data on the efficacy of such interventions.

Indexed as

eHealthfitnessmHealthpsychosisschizophreniasmartphonestechnologywearables

Identifiers

PMID26546039
PMCPMC4704940
OpenAlexW2116293971

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.