ArticleJMIR mHealth and uHealth2022
Mobile Health Apps for Patient-Centered Care: Review of United States Rheumatoid Arthritis Apps for Engagement and Activation.
Article in JMIR mHealth and uHealth, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 14 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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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
14 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 23 citations in OpenAlex.
- What makes patients engaged: a meta narrative review and multilevel perspective on patient engagement.BMC psychology · 2026Pooled it
- Quality and Accessibility of Home Assessment mHealth Apps for Community Living: Systematic Review.JMIR mHealth and uHealth · 2024Pooled it
- Article
- Translation and Validation of the User Version of the Mobile Application Rating Scale Into the Polish Language: Cross-Sectional Methodological Study.JMIR formative research · 2026Article
- Mobile health for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: a bibliometric analysis based on integrated databases (2000-2025).Frontiers in medicine · 2026Review
- Interpretable Machine Learning Models for Analyzing Determinants Affecting the Use of mHealth Apps Among Family Caregivers of Patients With Stroke in Chinese Communities: Cross-Sectional Survey Study.JMIR mHealth and uHealth · 2025Article
- Assessing activity limitations experienced by persons with rheumatoid arthritis to inform appropriate selection of patient-reported outcomes measures: a qualitative study.Journal of patient-reported outcomes · 2025Article
- A scoping review of large language models for generative tasks in mental health care.NPJ digital medicine · 2025Article
- Home blood pressure monitoring and mobile health application practices among pregnant persons with and at risk of hypertensive disorders of pregnancy.Pregnancy hypertension · 2025Article
- Expert Consensus on Developing Information and Communication Technology-Based Patient Education Guidelines for Rheumatic Diseases in the Korea.Journal of Korean medical science · 2025Article
- How Patient-Generated Data Enhance Patient-Provider Communication in Chronic Care: Field Study in Design Science Research.JMIR medical informatics · 2024Article
- Digital Therapeutics for Improving Effectiveness of Pharmaceutical Drugs and Biological Products: Preclinical and Clinical Studies Supporting Development of Drug + Digital Combination Therapies for Chronic Diseases.Journal of clinical medicine · 2024Review
- Informing Patient-Provider Engagement for Shared Decision Making Through Mobile Health Applications.Patient preference and adherence · 2023Article
- Evaluating a Global Assessment Measure Created by Standardized Patients for the Multiple Mini Interview in Medical School Admissions: Mixed Methods Study.Journal of participatory medicine · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
8 authors at 4 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundRheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a highly dynamic and individualized disease in terms of its patterns of symptomatic flare-ups and periods of remission. Patient-centered care (PCC) aligns patients' lifestyle goals with their preferences for managing symptoms and side effects through the selection of therapies appropriate for disease management. Mobile health (mHealth) apps have the potential to engage and activate patients in PCC. mHealth apps can provide features that increase disease knowledge, collect patient-generated health indicators and behavioral metrics, and highlight goals for disease management. However, little evidence-based guidance exists as to which apps contain functionality essential for supporting the delivery of PCC.
objectiveThe objective of this study was to evaluate the patient-centeredness of United States-based rheumatoid arthritis mobile apps in terms of patient engagement and activation.
methodsA search of mobile apps on 2 major United States app stores (Apple App Store and Google Play) was conducted from June 2020 to July 2021 to identify apps designed for use by patients with RA by adapting the PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses) guidelines for mobile health app screening based on the literature. Reviewers conducted a content analysis of mobile app features to evaluate their functionality for patient engagement and activation. Engagement and activation were assessed using the Mobile Application Rating Scale (MARS) and social cognitive theory, respectively. Apps were ranked by their ability to facilitate PCC care along 2 dimensions: engagement and activation.
resultsA total of 202 mobile apps were initially identified, and 20 remained after screening. Two apps emerged with the greatest ability to facilitate PCC. Both apps were scored as having acceptable or good patient engagement according to the MARS. These 2 apps also had high patient activation according to social cognitive theory, with many features within those apps representing theoretical constructs such as knowledge, perceived self-efficacy, and expectations about outcomes that support behavioral management of RA.
conclusionsWe found very few mobile apps available within the United States that have functionality that both engages and activates the patient to facilitate PCC. As the prevalence of mobile apps expands, the design of mobile apps needs to integrate patients to ensure that their functionality promotes engagement and activation. More research is needed to understand how mobile app use impacts patient engagement and activation, and ultimately, treatment decisions and disease trajectory.
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