ReviewInternational journal of cardiology2019
Mobile health applications for atrial fibrillation: A readability and quality assessment.
Review in International journal of cardiology, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT06935526 (The Effect of a Mobile Education Program and Telephone Monitoring Developed for Patients With Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillators on Shock Anxiety, Device Acceptance, and Self-Efficacy), which is not on this map. Cited by 21 papers, 1 of them a synthesis 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.
The Effect of a Mobile Education Program and Telephone Monitoring Developed for Patients With Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillators on Shock Anxiety, Device Acceptance, and Self-Efficacy
Who cites it
21 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 40 citations in OpenAlex.
- Considering User Experience and Behavioral Approaches in the Design of mHealth Interventions for Atrial Fibrillation: Systematic Review.Journal of medical Internet research · 2024Pooled it
- Elderly Medication Adherence Intervention Using the My Interventional Drug-Eluting Stent Educational App: Multisite Randomized Feasibility Trial.JMIR mHealth and uHealth · 2020Trial
- Systematic and Collaborative Approach to Learning and Educational Content Development (SCALED) for Health Apps: An Experience-Informed Conceptual Framework.JMIR mHealth and uHealth · 2026Article
- Involving End Users in Co-Designing Mobile Health Interventions for Hypertension Self-Management: Formative Study.JMIR formative research · 2026Article
- Digital Therapeutics in Cardiovascular Healthcare: A Narrative Review.Current cardiology reports · 2025Review
- Mobile Apps Designed for Patients With Polycystic Ovary Syndrome: Content Analysis Using the Mobile App Rating Scale.Journal of medical Internet research · 2025Article
- An instrument to measure atrial fibrillation knowledge in Chinese patients: validation of the Jessa Atrial fibrillation Knowledge Questionnaire.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2023Article
- Modification and Validation of an mHealth App Quality Assessment Methodology for International Use: Cross-sectional and eDelphi Studies.JMIR formative research · 2022Article
- Measuring Mobile Phone Application Usability for Anticoagulation from the Perspective of Patients, Caregivers, and Healthcare Professionals.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Article
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- Article
- Patient Perspectives on Performance of a Smartphone App for Atrial FibrillationSelf-Management.Patient preference and adherence · 2022Article
- Shared Decision Making in Cardiac Electrophysiology Procedures and Arrhythmia Management.Circulation. Arrhythmia and electrophysiology · 2021Review
- Identification and Evaluation of Methodologies to Assess the Quality of Mobile Health Apps in High-, Low-, and Middle-Income Countries: Rapid Review.JMIR mHealth and uHealth · 2021Review
- "Help in a Heartbeat?": A Systematic Evaluation of Mobile Health Applications (Apps) for Coronary Heart Disease.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2021Review
- A Blockchain-Enabled Framework for mHealth Systems.Sensors (Basel, Switzerland) · 2021Article
- COVID-19 Contact-Tracing Apps: Analysis of the Readability of Privacy Policies.Journal of medical Internet research · 2020Article
- On-demand mobile health infrastructures to allow comprehensive remote atrial fibrillation and risk factor management through teleconsultation.Clinical cardiology · 2020Review
- Review of mobile applications for the detection and management of atrial fibrillation.Heart rhythm O2 · 2020Article
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Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
6 authors at 6 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundMobile health applications may improve patient education and self-care for a complex condition such as atrial fibrillation (AF). Little is known about the accessibility of mobile health applications ("apps") and their readability. We evaluated the readability and quality of available apps for AF.
methodsWe searched the Apple and Google Play app stores with the terms "atrial fibrillation" and "afib." We downloaded English-language apps (up to n = 100 for each term) and categorized them by name, App store, cost, content, uploading agency (heath care associated [HCA] versus non-HCA), target audience (health care professional [HCP] versus non-HCP), scientific validity (i.e., citation of peer-reviewed or validated medical information), and user ratings. We analyzed the text of apps intended for a non-HCP target audience for readability with 10 established measures.
resultsOf the 206 downloaded apps, 50.5% were excluded as unrelated to AF, inaccessible, or non-English language. The majority of apps contained information about AF (63.2% Apple, 52.2% Google Play) and AF detection (52.6% Apple, 56.5% Google Play). A minority of non-HCP apps contained scientifically validated content (Apple, 15.8%; Google Play, 13.0%; P = NS). App mean readability was grade 12.1 ± 2.6.
conclusionsMost AF apps lacked scientific validation and were written at excessively high reading-grade levels. Our results suggest caution with mobile health apps, particularly for users with limited health literacy. There is potential opportunity for a multi-disciplinary effort by regulatory agencies, healthcare organizations, and app stores to improve relevance, scientific validity, and readability of AF apps for patients with this complex and morbid disease.
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What OpenQuestion holds
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.