ArticleJMIR mHealth and uHealth2024
Mobile Apps for the Personal Safety of At-Risk Children and Youth: Scoping Review.
Article in JMIR mHealth and uHealth, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.
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
2 citing papers in PubMed.
- Fostering Digital Resilience Among Youth Who Experienced Cyberbullying: Design Thinking Approach.Journal of medical Internet research · 2026Article
- mHealth Applications for Childhood Anxiety Disorders: Current Landscape, Challenges, and Future Directions.Current psychiatry reports · 2025Review
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
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundPersonal safety is a widespread public health issue that affects people of all demographics. There is a growing interest in the use of mobile apps for enhancing personal safety, particularly for children and youth at risk, who are among the most vulnerable groups in society.
objectiveThis study aims to explore what is known about the use of mobile apps for personal safety among children and youth identified to be "at risk."
methodsA scoping review following published methodological guidelines was conducted. In total, 5 databases (Scopus, SocINDEX, PsycINFO, Compendex, and Inspec Archive) were searched for relevant scholarly articles published between January 2005 and October 2023. The gray literature was searched using Google and Google Scholar search engines. The results were reported using the PRISMA-ScR (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses Extension for Scoping Reviews) guidelines. For summarizing the features and users' experiences of the apps, a published framework for evaluating the quality of mobile health apps for youth was used.
resultsA total of 1986 articles were identified, and 41 (2.1%) were included in the review. Nine personal safety apps were captured and categorized into 4 groups based on the goals of the apps, as follows: dating and sexual violence prevention (n=4, 44% of apps), bullying and school violence prevention (n=2, 22% of apps), self-harm and suicide prevention (n=2, 22% of apps), and homeless youth support (n=1, 11% of apps). Of the 41 articles, 25 (61%) provided data solely on app descriptions and features, while the remaining 16 (39%) articles provided data on app evaluations and descriptions. Outcomes focused on app engagement, users' experiences, and effectiveness. Four articles reported on app use, 3 (75%) of which reported relatively high app use. Data on users' experience were obtained from 13 studies. In general, participants found the app features to be easy to use and useful as educational resources and personal safety tools. Most of the views were positive. Negative perceptions included redundancy of app features and a lack of usefulness. Five apps were evaluated for effectiveness (n=2, 40% dating and sexual violence prevention; n=2, 40% self-harm and suicide prevention; and n=1, 20% bullying and school violence prevention) and were all associated with a statistically significant reduction (P=.001 to .048) in harm or risk to participants at the 95% CI.
conclusionsAlthough many personal safety apps are available, few studies have specifically evaluated those designed for youth. However, the evidence suggests that mobile safety apps generally appear to be beneficial for reducing harm to at-risk children and youth without any associated adverse events. Recommendations for future research have been made to strengthen the evidence and increase the availability of effective personal safety apps for children and youth.
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