ArticleJMIR mHealth and uHealth2020
Evaluating Asthma Mobile Apps to Improve Asthma Self-Management: User Ratings and Sentiment Analysis of Publicly Available Apps.
Article in JMIR mHealth and uHealth, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 8 papers.
What it found
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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
8 citing papers in PubMed.
- Digital Self-Management Platform for Adult Asthma: Randomized Attention-Placebo Controlled Trial.Journal of medical Internet research · 2024Trial
- Engagement and Intersectionality in Digital Self-Management Interventions for Asthma and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease: Scoping Review.Journal of medical Internet research · 2026Article
- Toward an autism-friendly environment based on mobile apps user feedback analysis using deep learning and machine learning models.PeerJ. Computer science · 2023Article
- Digital tools in allergy and respiratory care.The World Allergy Organization journal · 2022Review
- A Mobile App for Children With Asthma to Monitor Indoor Air Quality (AirBuddy): Development and Usability Study.JMIR formative research · 2022Article
- Designing an Indoor Air Quality Monitoring App for Asthma Management in Children: User-Centered Design Approach.JMIR formative research · 2021Article
- Physical and Mental Health Impacts of the COVID-19 Pandemic among US Adults with Chronic Respiratory Conditions.Journal of clinical medicine · 2021Article
- Attitudes Toward Using COVID-19 mHealth Tools Among Adults With Chronic Health Conditions: Secondary Data Analysis of the COVID-19 Impact Survey.JMIR mHealth and uHealth · 2020Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundThe development and use of mobile health (mHealth) apps for asthma management have risen dramatically over the past two decades. Asthma apps vary widely in their content and features; however, prior research has rarely examined preferences of users of publicly available apps.
objectiveThe goals of this study were to provide a descriptive overview of asthma mobile apps that are publicly available and to assess the usability of asthma apps currently available on the market to identify content and features of apps associated with positive and negative user ratings.
methodsReviews were collected on June 23, 2020, and included publicly posted reviews until June 21, 2020. To characterize features associated with high or low app ratings, we first dichotomized the average user rating of the asthma app into 2 categories: a high average rating and a low average rating. Asthma apps with average ratings of 4 and above were categorized as having a high average rating. Asthma apps with average ratings of less than 4 were categorized as having a low average rating. For the sentiment analysis, we modeled both 2-word (bi-gram) and 3-word (tri-gram) phrases which commonly appeared across highly rated and lowly rated apps.
resultsOf the 10 apps that met the inclusion criteria, a total of 373 reviews were examined across all apps. Among apps reviewed, 53.4% (199/373) received high ratings (average ratings of 4 or 5) and 47.2% (176/373) received low ratings (average ratings of 3 or less). The number of ratings across all apps ranged from 188 (AsthmaMD) to 10 (My Asthma App); 30% (3/10) of apps were available on both Android and iOS. From the sentiment analysis, key features of asthma management that were common among highly rated apps included the tracking of peak flow readings (n=48), asthma symptom monitoring (n=11), and action plans (n=10). Key features related to functionality that were common among highly rated apps included ease of use (n=5). Users most commonly reported loss of data (n=14) and crashing of app (n=12) as functionality issues among poorly rated asthma apps.
conclusionsOur study results demonstrate that asthma app quality, maintenance, and updates vary widely across apps and platforms. These findings may call into question the long-term engagement with asthma apps, a crucial factor for determining their potential to improve asthma self-management and asthma clinical outcomes.
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