ArticleJournal of medical Internet research2021
Determinants of the Use of Health and Fitness Mobile Apps by Patients With Asthma: Secondary Analysis of Observational Studies.
Article in Journal of medical Internet research, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
6 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Understanding Inequalities in Mobile Health Utilization Across Phases: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Journal of medical Internet research · 2025Pooled it
- Development and Usability of a Digital Asthma Self-management Education Platform: BRinging Exercise, Asthma Assessments, and TeacHing to Everyone (BREATHE).The journal of allergy and clinical immunology. In practice · 2026Article
- GI factors, potential to predict prostate motion during radiotherapy; a scoping review.Clinical and translational radiation oncology · 2023Article
- Prevalence and Characterisation of Patients with Asthma According to Disease Severity in Portugal: Findings from the EPI-ASTHMA Pilot Study.Journal of asthma and allergy · 2022Article
- Feasibility and Acceptability of an Asthma App to Monitor Medication Adherence: Mixed Methods Study.JMIR mHealth and uHealth · 2021Observational
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59 authors.
Funding
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Abstract
backgroundHealth and fitness apps have potential benefits to improve self-management and disease control among patients with asthma. However, inconsistent use rates have been reported across studies, regions, and health systems. A better understanding of the characteristics of users and nonusers is critical to design solutions that are effectively integrated in patients' daily lives, and to ensure that these equitably reach out to different groups of patients, thus improving rather than entrenching health inequities.
objectiveThis study aimed to evaluate the use of general health and fitness apps by patients with asthma and to identify determinants of usage.
methodsA secondary analysis of the INSPIRERS observational studies was conducted using data from face-to-face visits. Patients with a diagnosis of asthma were included between November 2017 and August 2020. Individual-level data were collected, including age, gender, marital status, educational level, health status, presence of anxiety and depression, postcode, socioeconomic level, digital literacy, use of health services, and use of health and fitness apps. Multivariate logistic regression was used to model the probability of being a health and fitness app user. Statistical analysis was performed in R.
resultsA total of 526 patients attended a face-to-face visit in the 49 recruiting centers and 514 had complete data. Most participants were ≤40 years old (66.4%), had at least 10 years of education (57.4%), and were in the 3 higher quintiles of the socioeconomic deprivation index (70.1%). The majority reported an overall good health status (visual analogue scale [VAS] score>70 in 93.1%) and the prevalence of anxiety and depression was 34.3% and 11.9%, respectively. The proportion of participants who reported using health and fitness mobile apps was 41.1% (n=211). Multivariate models revealed that single individuals and those with more than 10 years of education are more likely to use health and fitness mobile apps (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 2.22, 95%CI 1.05-4.75 and aOR 1.95, 95%CI 1.12-3.45, respectively). Higher digital literacy scores were also associated with higher odds of being a user of health and fitness apps, with participants in the second, third, and fourth quartiles reporting aORs of 6.74 (95%CI 2.90-17.40), 10.30 (95%CI 4.28-27.56), and 11.52 (95%CI 4.78-30.87), respectively. Participants with depression symptoms had lower odds of using health and fitness apps (aOR 0.32, 95%CI 0.12-0.83).
conclusionsA better understanding of the barriers and enhancers of app use among patients with lower education, lower digital literacy, or depressive symptoms is key to design tailored interventions to ensure a sustained and equitable use of these technologies. Future studies should also assess users' general health-seeking behavior and their interest and concerns specifically about digital tools. These factors may impact both initial engagement and sustained use.
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