Trial reportEuropean journal of physical and rehabilitation medicine2023
The effects of a mobile app-delivered intervention in people with symptomatic hand osteoarthritis: a pragmatic randomized controlled trial.
Trial report in European journal of physical and rehabilitation medicine, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 14 papers, 9 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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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.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
14 citing papers in PubMed, 9 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 21 citations in OpenAlex.
- Effects of Digital Health Interventions in Chronic Musculoskeletal Pain: Systematic Review and Bayesian Network Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials.Journal of medical Internet research · 2026Pooled it
- The effectiveness of telerehabilitation in upper limb musculoskeletal disorders: a systematic review.BMC musculoskeletal disorders · 2026Pooled it
- A systematic review of the scope and impact of rural primary healthcare innovations using digital health technology.BMJ open · 2026Pooled it
- mHealth applications to enhance physical therapy outcomes among adults with chronic non-cancer pain: a scoping review.Frontiers in pain research (Lausanne, Switzerland) · 2026Pooled it
- The Effect and Safety of App-Based Interventions for Populations With Osteoarthritis: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials.JMIR mHealth and uHealth · 2025Pooled it
- Effect of Digital Exercise Therapy on the Pain and Physical Function of Patients With Osteoarthritis: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Journal of medical Internet research · 2025Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Effectiveness of digital pain management for older adults with musculoskeletal pain: systematic review with meta-analysis.Frontiers in pain research (Lausanne, Switzerland) · 2025Pooled it
- Impact of 25 Years of Mobile Health Tools for Pain Management in Patients With Chronic Musculoskeletal Pain: Systematic Review.Journal of medical Internet research · 2024Pooled it
- Changing Habits With the Happy Hands App: Qualitative Focus Group Study of a Hand Osteoarthritis Self-Management Intervention.Journal of medical Internet research · 2026Trial
- Development of the Happy Hands Self-Management App for People with Hand Osteoarthritis: Feasibility Study.JMIR formative research · 2024Trial
- An open-label feasibility trial of transdermal cannabidiol for hand osteoarthritis.Scientific reports · 2024Trial
- Development of quality indicators for hand osteoarthritis care - Results from an European consensus study.Osteoarthritis and cartilage open · 2025Article
- Evaluation of an e-self-management intervention (Happy Hands app) for hand osteoarthritis: Study protocol for a multicentre randomised controlled trial.Rheumatology international · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
7 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundExercise therapy, self-management and education are recommended interventions for hand osteoarthritis (OA), but new delivery systems are needed to solve lack of adherence.
aimTo determine the effects on hand function and pain related measures of a mobile app-delivered intervention, compared with usual care, in patients with symptomatic hand OA.
designA pragmatic, multicenter, two-group parallel randomized controlled trial.
settingCommunity health centers in rural southern Spain. POPULATION: Eighty-three participants with unilateral or bilateral symptomatic hand OA were proposed to participate, and finally 74 were included and randomized.
methodsParticipants received a home multimodal treatment (exercise, education, and self-management recommendations) with the CareHand mobile app or usual care (written exercises) over 12 weeks. Monthly telephone calls were performed to monitor adherence. The primary outcome was hand physical function (Australian/Canadian Hand Osteoarthritis Index, AUSCAN) at 3- and 6-months. Secondary measures included hand pain intensity and morning stiffness, upper limb function, hand dexterity, and grip and pinch strength.
resultsThe CareHand group showed significant within-group changes in hand function at 6-months (-3.0, 95% CI -5.1 to -0.9 vs. usual care: -0.9, 95% CI -3.3 to 1.5). Neither group showed improvements in hand function at 3-months (CareHand: -1.5, 95% CI -3.1 to 0.1; usual care: -0.5, 95% CI -2.7 to 1.7). For the secondary outcomes, the CareHand group showed better results on upper limb function both at 3- and 6-months, and on pain both at 1- and 3-months compared to usual care group. Linear regression models indicated that baseline scores of pain intensity, hand status, and upper limb function were associated with a greater improvement in hand pain and physical function.
conclusionsA mobile app-delivered intervention is effective for improving hand function, and better than usual care for upper limb function and pain. Further research is warranted to understand the impact of mobile health (mHealth) in people with hand OA. CLINICAL REHABILITATION IMPACT: mHealth interventions are a feasible and secure multimodal delivery approach in older adults with hand OA in rural primary care setting. Baseline pain and upper limb function might predict functional hand outcomes.
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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.