ArticleJMIR mHealth and uHealth2016
Patient-Facing Mobile Apps to Treat High-Need, High-Cost Populations: A Scoping Review.
Article in JMIR mHealth and uHealth, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 34 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled 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.
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.
Who cites it
34 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 71 citations in OpenAlex.
- Investigating the application of IoT mobile app and healthcare services for diabetic elderly: A systematic review.PloS one · 2025Pooled it
- Computer-Controlled Virtual Humans in Patient-Facing Systems: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Journal of medical Internet research · 2020Pooled it
- Evaluation of a Web-Based Simulation Tool for Self-Management Support in Type 1 Diabetes: A Pilot Study.IEEE journal of biomedical and health informatics · 2023Trial
- Use of a Smartphone-Based Mobile App for Weight Management in Obese Minority Stroke Survivors: Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial With Open Blinded End Point.JMIR mHealth and uHealth · 2020Trial
- Continuous Glucose Monitoring and Insulin Informed Advisory System with Automated Titration and Dosing of Insulin Reduces Glucose Variability in Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus.Diabetes technology & therapeutics · 2018Trial
- Embracing change: Navigating menopause with the help of mobile health apps in Germany.Comprehensive psychoneuroendocrinology · 2025Review
- Engagement With and Impact of an mHealth App for Childhood Obesity Prevention and Management: Protocol for a Mixed Methods Study.JMIR research protocols · 2025Article
- Usability of the BigO system in pediatric obesity treatment: A mixed-methods evaluation of clinical end-users.Computational and structural biotechnology journal · 2024Article
- Development of MyREADY Transition BBD Mobile App, a Health Intervention Technology Platform, to Improve Care Transition for Youth With Brain-Based Disabilities: User-Centered Design Approach.JMIR pediatrics and parenting · 2024Article
- Challenges and Alternatives to Evaluation Methods and Regulation Approaches for Medical Apps as Mobile Medical Devices: International and Multidisciplinary Focus Group Discussion.Journal of medical Internet research · 2024Article
- Article
- Quality of Care in Hospitals and the Use of Mobile-Based Personal Health Record Applications: An Exploratory Study Using National Hospital Evaluation Data.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Article
- Barriers and facilitators to parents' engagement with and perceived impact of a childhood obesity app: A mixed-methods study.PLOS digital health · 2024Article
- Caring for high-need patients.BMC health services research · 2023Article
- An overview of and recommendations for more accessible digital mental health services.Nature reviews psychology · 2022Article
- Effects of Patient-Generated Health Data: Comparison of Two Versions of Long-Term Mobile Personal Health Record Usage Logs.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2021Article
- Co-designing an Adaption of a Mobile App to Enhance Communication, Safety, and Well-being Among People Living at Home With Early-Stage Dementia: Protocol for an Exploratory Multiple Case Study.JMIR research protocols · 2021Article
- Feasibility of a Mobile Health App for Routine Outcome Monitoring and Feedback in SMART Recovery Mutual Support Groups: Stage 1 Mixed Methods Pilot Study.Journal of medical Internet research · 2021Article
- The Doctor Will "Friend" You Now: A Qualitative Study on Adolescents' Preferences for Weight Management App Features.Southern medical journal · 2021Article
- A Mobile App for Self-Triage for Pediatric Emergency Patients in Japan: 4 Year Descriptive Epidemiological Study.JMIR pediatrics and parenting · 2021Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
13 authors at 6 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundSelf-management is essential to caring for high-need, high-cost (HNHC) populations. Advances in mobile phone technology coupled with increased availability and adoption of health-focused mobile apps have made self-management more achievable, but the extent and quality of the literature supporting their use is not well defined.
objectiveThe purpose of this review was to assess the breadth, quality, bias, and types of outcomes measured in the literature supporting the use of apps targeting HNHC populations.
methodsData sources included articles in PubMed and MEDLINE (National Center for Biotechnology Information), EMBASE (Elsevier), the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (EBSCO), Web of Science (Thomson Reuters), and the NTIS (National Technical Information Service) Bibliographic Database (EBSCO) published since 2008. We selected studies involving use of patient-facing iOS or Android mobile health apps. Extraction was performed by 1 reviewer; 40 randomly selected articles were evaluated by 2 reviewers to assess agreement.
resultsOur final analysis included 175 studies. The populations most commonly targeted by apps included patients with obesity, physical handicaps, diabetes, older age, and dementia. Only 30.3% (53/175) of the apps studied in the reviewed literature were identifiable and available to the public through app stores. Many of the studies were cross-sectional analyses (42.9%, 75/175), small (median number of participants=31, interquartile range 11.0-207.2, maximum 11,690), or performed by an app's developers (61.1%, 107/175). Of the 175 studies, only 36 (20.6%, 36/175) studies evaluated a clinical outcome.
conclusionsMost apps described in the literature could not be located on the iOS or Android app stores, and existing research does not robustly evaluate the potential of mobile apps. Whereas apps may be useful in patients with chronic conditions, data do not support this yet. Although we had 2-3 reviewers to screen and assess abstract eligibility, only 1 reviewer abstracted the data. This is one limitation of our study. With respect to the 40 articles (22.9%, 40/175) that were assigned to 2 reviewers (of which 3 articles were excluded), inter-rater agreement was significant on the majority of items (17 of 30) but fair-to-moderate on others.
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Registered trials
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.