Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39918848›Full record

ArticleJournal of medical Internet research2025

Good-Quality mHealth Apps for Endometriosis Care: Systematic Search.

Diksha Sirohi, Cecilia Hm Ng, Niranjan Bidargaddi, Helen Slater, Melissa Parker, M Louise Hull, Rebecca O'Hara

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Journal of medical Internet research, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from 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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors.

Diksha SirohiRobinson Research Institute, Adelaide Medical School, University of Adelaide, North Adelaide, Australia.ORCID 0000-0003-4485-7877
Cecilia Hm NgSchool of Clinical Medicine, Medicine and Health, UNSW Medicine, Sydney, Australia.ORCID 0000-0002-8637-9861
Niranjan BidargaddiDigital Psychiatry & Personal Health Informatics Lab, College of Medicine and Public Health, Flinders University, Adelaide, Australia.ORCID 0000-0003-2868-9260
Helen SlaterSchool of Physiotherapy and Exercise Science, Faculty of Health Sciences, Curtin University, Perth, Australia.ORCID 0000-0002-4868-4988
Melissa ParkerCanberra Endometriosis Centre, Centenary Hospital for Women and Children, ACT Health, Canberra, Australia.ORCID 0000-0002-4213-7166
M Louise HullRobinson Research Institute, Adelaide Medical School, University of Adelaide, North Adelaide, Australia.ORCID 0000-0003-1813-3971
Rebecca O'HaraRobinson Research Institute, Adelaide Medical School, University of Adelaide, North Adelaide, Australia.ORCID 0000-0002-7482-1691

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundMobile health (mHealth) apps are increasingly being used by community members to track symptoms and manage endometriosis. In addition, clinicians use mHealth apps for continued medical education and clinical decision-making and recommend good-quality apps to patients. However, poor-quality apps can spread misinformation or provide recommendations that are not evidence-based. Therefore, a critical evaluation is needed to assess and recommend good-quality endometriosis mHealth apps.

objectiveThis study aimed to evaluate the quality and provide recommendations for good quality endometriosis mHealth apps for the community and clinicians.

methodsPRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) 2020 guidelines informed the search of mHealth apps on the Google Play Store and Apple App Store. The search terms included "endometriosis," "adenomyosis," and "pelvic pain." mHealth apps were eligible if they were (1) related to the search terms, (2) were in the English language, and (3) were available free of cost. Only the free content of the eligible mHealth apps was assessed. ENLIGHT, a validated evaluation tool for mobile and web-based interventions, was used to assess the quality across 7 domains such as usability, visual design, user engagement, content, therapeutic persuasiveness, therapeutic alliance, and general subjective evaluation. mHealth apps with a total score of ≥3.5 were classified as "good" according to the ENLIGHT scoring system and are recommended as good-quality mHealth apps for endometriosis care.

resultsIn total, 42 mHealth apps were screened, and 19 were included in the quality assessment. A total of 6 good-quality mHealth apps were identified (QENDO, Bearable, Luna for Health, Matilda Health, Branch Health: Pain Management, and CHARLI Health). These apps provided symptom-tracking functions and self-management support. A total of 17 apps were designed for community use, while 2 apps provided a digital endometriosis classification tool to clinicians. Most mHealth apps scored well (≥3.5) in the domains of usability (16/19, 84.2%), visual design (14/19, 73.7%), user engagement (11/19, 57.9%), and content (15/19, 78.9%). Few eHealth websites scored well on therapeutic persuasiveness (6/19, 31.6%), therapeutic alliance (9/19, 47.4%), and general subjective evaluation (6/19, 31.6%).

conclusionsAlthough time and geographical location can influence the search results, we identified 6 "good-quality" endometriosis mHealth apps that can be recommended to the endometriosis community. mHealth apps designed for community use should evaluate their effectiveness on user's endometriosis knowledge, self-recommended management strategies, pain self-efficacy, user satisfaction, and user quality of life. Digital technology should be leveraged to develop mHealth apps for clinicians that contribute to continued medical education and assist clinical decision-making in endometriosis management. Factors that enhance usability, visual design, therapeutic persuasiveness, and therapeutic alliance should be incorporated to ensure successful and long-term uptake of mHealth apps.

trial registrationPROSPERO CRD42020185475; https://tinyurl.com/384dkkmj.

Indexed as

EndometriosisMobile ApplicationsTelemedicineFemaleHumansadenomyosisapplicationchocolate cystscliniciansdigital healthendometriomasendometriosismHealthm-health appsmobile appsmobile phonepain managementpelvic painself-learninguteruswombwomen's health

Identifiers

PMID39918848
PMCPMC11845897

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.