ArticleJMIR mental health2020
Apps With Maps-Anxiety and Depression Mobile Apps With Evidence-Based Frameworks: Systematic Search of Major App Stores.
Article in JMIR mental health, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 39 papers, 6 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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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.
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Who cites it
39 citing papers in PubMed, 6 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Smartphone Apps for Preventing Adolescent Health Problems Among Health Care Professionals: Systematic Search and Quality Assessment.JMIR mHealth and uHealth · 2026Pooled it
- Evaluating Characteristics and Quality of Mental Health Apps Available in App Stores for Indian Users: Systematic App Search and Review.JMIR mHealth and uHealth · 2025Pooled it
- Effectiveness of Digital Mental Health Interventions in the Workplace: Umbrella Review of Systematic Reviews.JMIR mental health · 2025Pooled it
- Mobile applications in adolescent psychotherapy during the COVID-19 pandemic: a systematic review.Frontiers in public health · 2024Pooled it
- Design and development of a mobile-based self-care application for patients with depression and anxiety disorders.BMC medical informatics and decision making · 2023Pooled it
- Effects of Mobile Mindfulness Meditation on the Mental Health of University Students: Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.Journal of medical Internet research · 2023Pooled it
- Digital interventions for depressive symptoms: a randomized clinical trial.Trends in psychiatry and psychotherapy · 2025Trial
- Adolescents' Preferences, Experiences, and Views of 2 Online Programs for Anxiety and Depressive Symptoms: Qualitative Interview Study.JMIR pediatrics and parenting · 2026Article
- Article
- Mobile-Based Ecological Momentary Interventions for Grief in China and Switzerland: Protocol for a Collaborative and Iterative Qualitative App Development Study.JMIR research protocols · 2026Article
- Identifying what works in mental health apps through meta-regression analyses of 169 trials.NPJ digital medicine · 2026Article
- What should be included in a digital mental health intervention, based on solution-focused therapy, for young people who self-harm? A qualitative exploration of young people and clinicians' views.PLOS digital health · 2026Article
- ROOM to Grow, a Mobile Well-Being Intervention for University Students: Overview of the Design Process and Outcomes.JMIR formative research · 2025Article
- Attitudes and barriers to mobile mental health interventions among first-year college students: a mixed-methods study.Journal of American college health : J of ACH · 2025Article
- A randomized controlled trial of a trauma-informed smartphone application in reducing firefighters' mental health symptoms.NPJ digital medicine · 2025Article
- Mental Health Apps Available in App Stores for Indian Users: Protocol for a Systematic Review.JMIR research protocols · 2025Article
- A scoping review of the reporting quality of reviews of commercially and publicly available mobile health apps.JAMIA open · 2025Review
- Understanding the impact of digital therapeutic engagement in promoting mental wellbeing for Pacific youth in Aotearoa New Zealand: an exploration of the literature.International journal of mental health systems · 2024Review
- A systematic appraisal of the information, engagement, aesthetic and functional quality of nutrition-related smartphone apps for children and adolescents.Public health nutrition · 2023Review
- Is the world ready for ChatGPT therapists?Nature · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
3 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundMobile mental health apps have become ubiquitous tools to assist people in managing symptoms of anxiety and depression. However, due to the lack of research and expert input that has accompanied the development of most apps, concerns have been raised by clinicians, researchers, and government authorities about their efficacy.
objectiveThis review aimed to estimate the proportion of mental health apps offering comprehensive therapeutic treatments for anxiety and/or depression available in the app stores that have been developed using evidence-based frameworks. It also aimed to estimate the proportions of specific frameworks being used in an effort to understand which frameworks are having the most influence on app developers in this area.
methodsA systematic review of the Apple App Store and Google Play store was performed to identify apps offering comprehensive therapeutic interventions that targeted anxiety and/or depression. The PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) checklist was adapted to guide this approach.
resultsOf the 293 apps shortlisted as offering a therapeutic treatment for anxiety and/or depression, 162 (55.3%) mentioned an evidence-based framework in their app store descriptions. Of the 293 apps, 88 (30.0%) claimed to use cognitive behavioral therapy techniques, 46 (15.7%) claimed to use mindfulness, 27 (9.2%) claimed to use positive psychology, 10 (3.4%) claimed to use dialectical behavior therapy, 5 (1.7%) claimed to use acceptance and commitment therapy, and 20 (6.8%) claimed to use other techniques. Of the 162 apps that claimed to use a theoretical framework, only 10 (6.2%) had published evidence for their efficacy.
conclusionsThe current proportion of apps developed using evidence-based frameworks is unacceptably low, and those without tested frameworks may be ineffective, or worse, pose a risk of harm to users. Future research should establish what other factors work in conjunction with evidence-based frameworks to produce efficacious mental health apps.
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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.