ArticlePloS one2018
Mobile apps for treatment of speech disorders in children: An evidence-based analysis of quality and efficacy.
Article in PloS one, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 27 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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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
27 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Application of Digital Games for Speech Therapy in Children: A Systematic Review of Features and Challenges.Journal of healthcare engineering · 2022Pooled it
- Mobile Phone Apps in Australia for Improving Pregnancy Outcomes: Systematic Search on App Stores.JMIR mHealth and uHealth · 2020Pooled it
- Enhancement of Neurocognitive Assessments Using Smartphone Capabilities: Systematic Review.JMIR mHealth and uHealth · 2020Pooled it
- Striving for Triadic Collaboration in Pediatric Speech Sound Disorder Intervention: Grounded Theory Study.JMIR pediatrics and parenting · 2026Article
- Caregiver Survey-Based Perspectives on Digital Therapeutics for Children with Delayed Language Development.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Parents' Perceptions Regarding Needs and Readiness for Tele-Practice Implementation Within a Public Health System for the Identification and Rehabilitation of Children with Hearing and Speech-Language Disorders in South India.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2025Article
- Mobile health in communication disorders: willingness to use, attitude, advantages, and challenges from the perspective of patients.BMC health services research · 2025Article
- Artificial Intelligence-Assisted Speech Therapy for /ɹ/: A Single-Case Experimental Study.American journal of speech-language pathology · 2024Article
- Evaluating acoustic representations and normalization for rhoticity classification in children with speech sound disorders.JASA express letters · 2024Article
- Problems and Barriers Related to the Use of Digital Health Applications: Scoping Review.Journal of medical Internet research · 2023Article
- A Scoping Review of Digital Well-Being in Early Childhood: Definitions, Measurements, Contributors, and Interventions.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2023Article
- Raising the Child-Do Screen Media Help or Hinder? The Quality over Quantity Hypothesis.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Review
- Intervention Mapping of a Gamified Therapy Prescription App for Children With Disabilities: User-Centered Design Approach.JMIR pediatrics and parenting · 2022Article
- Data handling practices and commercial features of apps related to children: a scoping review of content analyses.Archives of disease in childhood · 2022Article
- Telepractice Treatment of Residual Rhotic Errors Using App-Based Biofeedback: A Pilot Study.Language, speech, and hearing services in schools · 2022Article
- Listening to Stakeholders Involved in Speech-Language Therapy for Children With Communication Disorders: Content Analysis of Apple App Store Reviews.JMIR pediatrics and parenting · 2022Article
- Digital Health and Digital Learning Experiences Across Speech-Language Pathology, Phoniatrics, and Otolaryngology: Interdisciplinary Survey Study.JMIR medical education · 2021Article
- End users' rating of a mHealth app prototype for paediatric speech pathology clinical assessment.Saudi journal of biological sciences · 2021Article
- Digital Learning in Speech-Language Pathology, Phoniatrics, and Otolaryngology: Interdisciplinary and Exploratory Analysis of Content, Organizing Structures, and Formats.JMIR medical education · 2021Article
- Tablet-Based Apps for Phonics and Phonological Awareness: Protocol for Evidence-Based Appraisal of Content, Quality, and Usability.JMIR research protocols · 2021Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundRecently there has been exponential growth in mobile health (mHealth) applications (apps) for children with speech disorders. A challenge for health professionals and families is knowing how to find high quality apps that are therapeutically beneficial. We systematically search and critique the quality of mobile apps for childhood speech disorders. An evidence-based method for identifying suitable apps in the Google Play and Apple iTunes stores is also proposed. METHODS AND
findingsA systematic search of the Google Play and Apple iTunes app stores was conducted from November 2016 to May 2017. Twelve pre-defined search terms were applied, identifying 5076 apps. Systematic screening resulted in 132 unique apps for full appraisal. These were appraised by two raters using the Mobile Application Rating scale. None were of excellent quality. Twenty-five were of good quality, 105 average and 2 were poor or very poor. DISCUSSION: It can be challenging for consumers to locate high quality speech therapy apps for children. Although we found more than 5000 apps, less than 3% met criteria for evaluation. Difficulties sourcing valid apps included: (i) Boolean operators were not available and therefore only one search term could be used each time (ii) the order of app listings in online stores continually changed (iii) apps were organised in online stores according to relevance and popularity (iv) there was no easy way to extract app titles and eliminate duplicates (v) app cost did not always correlate with therapeutic quality.
conclusionsThe rapid growth of mHealth heightens the need to develop rigorous and efficient systems to search and retrieve apps and evaluate their therapeutic benefits. Given the difficulty accessing speech therapy services worldwide, mHealth promises therapy benefits when apps are reliable, valid and easily found.
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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.