ArticleHealthcare (Basel, Switzerland)2022
User Engagement and Abandonment of mHealth: A Cross-Sectional Survey.
Article in Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland), 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 70 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.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
70 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- The transformative power of mHealth apps: empowering patients with obesity and diabetes - a narrative review.Journal of medicine and life · 2024Pooled it
- Pilot Study of a Digital Health Intervention to Increase HIV and Sexually Transmitted Infection Testing Uptake and Reduce Condomless Sex and Substance Use Among Adolescents.The Journal of adolescent health : official publication of the Society for Adolescent Medicine · 2026Trial
- Patient-Centered mHealth Intervention to Improve Self-Care in Patients With Chronic Heart Failure: Phase 1 Randomized Controlled Trial.Journal of medical Internet research · 2025Trial
- Evaluating a digital tool for supporting people affected by breast cancer: a prospective randomized controlled trial-the ADAPT study.Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer · 2024Trial
- The Synergistic Effect of Nurse Proactive Phone Calls With an mHealth App Program on Sustaining App Usage: 3-Arm Randomized Controlled Trial.Journal of medical Internet research · 2023Trial
- Clinic-Integrated Smartphone App (JomPrEP) to Improve Uptake of HIV Testing and Pre-exposure Prophylaxis Among Men Who Have Sex With Men in Malaysia: Mixed Methods Evaluation of Usability and Acceptability.JMIR mHealth and uHealth · 2023Trial
- Usability Across 3 mHealth Problem-Solving Training Interventions for Diverse Neurodevelopmental and Neurological Populations: Multicase Usability Evaluation.JMIR human factors · 2026Article
- Observational
- Article
- Engagement of Users in Digital Health Applications: Scoping Review.JMIR mHealth and uHealth · 2026Article
- Restoring Engagement in Digital Self-Control Tools Using Nudge Reconfiguration Prompts: Quasi-Experimental Study.JMIR formative research · 2026Article
- Deployment of an Activity Monitoring Program to Complement a Clinical Intervention for Veterans With Gulf War Illness: Qualitative Study.JMIR human factors · 2026Article
- User evaluation of the Hypo-METRICS app: A tool for real-time symptom reporting of hypoglycaemia.Diabetic medicine : a journal of the British Diabetic Association · 2026Article
- Autonomous Motivation Trajectory Following Adoption of a Team-Based Gamification App Among Adults With Diabetes: 1-Year Formative Longitudinal Study.JMIR formative research · 2026Article
- Increasing Truck Drivers' Compliance, Retention, and Long-Term Engagement with e-Health & Mobile Applications: A PRISMA Systematic Review.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- Self-Determination Theory as a Framework for Research and Design of Digital Applications for Nurses' Well-Being.Journal of advanced nursing · 2026Review
- Impact of technological acceptance on application-based engagement among type 2 diabetes patients: local insights and implications for developing countries.Journal of pharmaceutical policy and practice · 2026Article
- Moderate-to-good acceptability of smartwatch monitoring in head and neck cancer survivors: findings from the MOVE-1 feasibility study.Frontiers in oncology · 2026Article
- Developing Dietary Self-Management Personas for mHealth Tools Among Patients with Kidney Failure Undergoing Hemodialysis: A Multi-Method Study.Patient preference and adherence · 2026Article
- The Impact of Mobile Health Literacy, Socioeconomic Factors, and Engagement Patterns on DiabetesXcel App Usage in Adults.Journal of diabetes and metabolic disorders · 2025Article
10 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
Abstract
Mobile health (mHealth) apps have great potential to improve health outcomes. Given that mHealth apps have become ubiquitous, there is limited focus on their abandonment. Data concerning crucial metrics, including reasons for adoption and discontinued use, are limited. This study aims to gain broad insights into utilization of mHealth and game-like features promoting user engagement. We conducted a cross-sectional survey of 209 mHealth users worldwide. The 17-item survey assessed sociodemographics, as well as the key motivators for mHealth uptake and discontinued use. Our findings show that sports and fitness activity tracking were the most common categories of health apps, with most users engaging with them at least several times a week. Interestingly, the most downloaded mHealth apps among younger adults include MyFitnessPal, Fitbit, Nike Run Club, and Samsung Health. Critical drivers of abandonment of mHealth apps were amotivation, loss of interest, and experimenting with different apps to identify the most suitable tool. Additionally, the financial cost of mHealth apps is crucial, with most participants advocating for free or more affordable apps. The study findings suggest that while many individuals utilize mHealth, several factors drive their abandonment. Moreover, data indicate that mHealth developers need to consider gamification strategies to sustain user commitment, as well as psychological variables, such as intrinsic motivation.
Indexed as
Identifiers
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.