Trial reportJournal of medical Internet research2017
Mobile App for Treatment of Stress Urinary Incontinence: A Cost-Effectiveness Analysis.
Trial report in Journal of medical Internet research, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 40 papers, 9 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
40 citing papers in PubMed, 9 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Effectiveness of Mobile Health Interventions for Reducing Sitting Time in Older Adults: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Journal of medical Internet research · 2025Pooled it
- Economic Evaluation Associated With Clinical-Grade Mobile App-Based Digital Therapeutic Interventions: Systematic Review.Journal of medical Internet research · 2023Pooled it
- Persuasive Technology in an mHealth App Designed for Pelvic Floor Muscle Training Among Women: Systematic Review.JMIR mHealth and uHealth · 2022Pooled it
- The cost-effectiveness of digital health interventions: A systematic review of the literature.Frontiers in public health · 2022Pooled it
- Effects of Mobile Health App Interventions on Sedentary Time, Physical Activity, and Fitness in Older Adults: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Journal of medical Internet research · 2019Pooled it
- Heterogeneity of cost estimates in health economic evaluation research. A systematic review of stress urinary incontinence studies.International urogynecology journal · 2019Pooled it
- Pelvic floor muscle training versus no treatment, or inactive control treatments, for urinary incontinence in women.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2018Pooled it
- Pelvic floor muscle training versus no treatment, or inactive control treatments, for urinary incontinence in women: a cochrane systematic review abridged republication.Brazilian journal of physical therapyPooled it
- Mobile health technologies for the management of urinary incontinence: A systematic review of online stores in Brazil.Brazilian journal of physical therapyPooled it
- Effects of an exercise program using an smatphone App with remote or in-person supervision on the functional capacity of older adults: a randomized clinical.Einstein (Sao Paulo, Brazil) · 2026Trial
- Pressure-Mediated Biofeedback With Pelvic Floor Muscle Training for Urinary Incontinence: A Randomized Clinical Trial.JAMA network open · 2024Trial
- Use of a Mobile Application for Pelvic Floor Muscle Training in Women With Urinary Incontinence: a Randomized Control Trial.International urogynecology journal · 2024Trial
- Cost-effectiveness of an app-based treatment for urinary incontinence in comparison with care-as-usual in Dutch general practice: a pragmatic randomised controlled trial over 12 months.BJOG : an international journal of obstetrics and gynaecology · 2022Trial
- One year effectiveness of an app-based treatment for urinary incontinence in comparison to care as usual in Dutch general practice: A pragmatic randomised controlled trial over 12 months.BJOG : an international journal of obstetrics and gynaecology · 2022Trial
- A mobile app for the treatment of female mixed and urgency incontinence: a cost-effectiveness analysis in Sweden.International urogynecology journal · 2022Trial
- Barriers and Facilitators Associated With App-Based Treatment for Female Urinary Incontinence: Mixed Methods Evaluation.JMIR mHealth and uHealth · 2021Trial
- A Mobile App for Self-management of Urgency and Mixed Urinary Incontinence in Women: Randomized Controlled Trial.Journal of medical Internet research · 2021Trial
- Real-world effectiveness of app-based treatment for urinary incontinence: a cohort study.BMJ open · 2021Trial
- Digital Health Interventions Incorporating Behavior Change Techniques and Gamification for Bladder Health in Adults Aged 50 Years and Older: Rapid Review.Interactive journal of medical research · 2026Review
- A Nordic perspective on female stress urinary incontinence care: Lessons for shared clinical practice.Acta obstetricia et gynecologica Scandinavica · 2026Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundMobile apps can increase access to care, facilitate self-management, and improve adherence to treatment. Stress urinary incontinence (SUI) affects 10-35% of women and, currently, an app with instructions for pelvic floor muscle training (PFMT) is available as first-line treatment. A previous randomized controlled study demonstrated that the app benefitted symptom severity and quality of life (QoL); in this study we investigate the cost-effectiveness of the app.
objectiveThe objective of this study was to evaluate the health economy of the app for treating SUI.
methodsThis deterministic cost-utility analysis, with a 1-year societal perspective, compared the app treatment with no treatment. Health economic data were collected alongside a randomized controlled trial performed in Sweden from March 2013 to October 2014. This study included 123 community-dwelling women participants of 18 years and above, with stress urinary incontinence ≥1 time per week. Participants were self-assessed with validated questionnaires and 2-day leakage diaries, and then randomized to 3 months of treatment (app group, n=62) or no treatment (controls, n=61). The app focused on pelvic floor muscle training, prescribed 3 times daily. We continuously registered treatment delivery costs. Data were collected on each participant's training time, incontinence aids, and laundry at baseline and at a 3-month follow-up. We measured quality of life with the International Consultation on Incontinence Modular Questionnaire on Lower Urinary Tract Symptoms and Quality of Life, and calculated the quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) gained. Data from the 3-month follow-up were extrapolated to 1 year for the calculations. Our main outcome was the incremental cost-effectiveness ratios compared between app and control groups. One-way and multiway sensitivity analyses were performed.
resultsThe mean age of participants was 44.7 years (SD 9.4). Annual costs were €547.0 for the app group and €482.4 for the control group. Annual gains in quality-adjusted life years for app and control groups were 0.0101 and 0.0016, respectively. Compared with controls, the extra cost per quality-adjusted life year for the app group ranged from -€2425.7 to €14,870.6, which indicated greater gains in quality-adjusted life years at similar or slightly higher cost.
conclusionsThe app for treating stress urinary incontinence is a new, cost-effective, first-line treatment with potential for increasing access to care in a sustainable way for this patient group.
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