ANALYSIS OF MOBILE HEALTH APPLICATIONS FOR CHRONIC OBSTRUCTIVE PULMONARY DISEASE MANAGEMENT USING THE MOBILE APPLICATION RATING SCALE AND GOLD GUIDELINE RECOMMENDATIONS
Author(s)
Choi ME1, Electricwala B2, Hur P1, Xiang P3
1University of Maryland, Baltimore, MD, USA, 2Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation, East Hanover, NJ, USA, 3Baylor Scott & White Health, Temple, TX, USA
OBJECTIVES: To identify and assess the quality and functionality of mobile health applications in the patient management of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) METHODS: The following search terms were used to identify mobile applications in the Android “Google Play” and Apple “App Store”: “COPD”, “emphysema”, “bronchitis”, “chronic airway obstruction”, and “Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease”. We included applications in English, free to use, patient-focused, and pertaining to the management of COPD. We excluded applications that were specific to a drug, required additional devices (e.g. portable spirometer), and were games not related to disease management. Applications were assessed independently by at least two reviewers using the Mobile Application Rating Scale (MARS) and Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD) guideline recommendations for management of COPD. RESULTS: Of the applications identified, 24 met inclusion criteria. Fewer than half (46%) of the applications had acceptable MARS scores (> 3.0) with mean MARS score of 3.0. COPD Navigator and CareTRx Asthma & COPD Journal applications had the highest overall MARS mean scores (3.8 and 4.0, respectively). The MARS category with the highest mean score across all applications studied was Functionality (3.3) and the lowest scoring category was Engagement (2.8). Of the applicable 11 GOLD guideline recommendations, the median number offered by applications was three. COPD education was offered most frequently (54% of applications). The least offered function was emotional support (17% of applications). The application with greatest consistency with GOLD guidelines recommendations was COPD Navigator, which met 10 recommendations. CONCLUSIONS: Among the health applications available through mobile platforms for patient management of COPD, less than half had acceptable MARS scores and the number of COPD Guideline recommendations addressed in applications was often low. There is a need for further development of mobile applications geared toward patient management of COPD, specifically in Engagement and emotional support.
Conference/Value in Health Info
2017-05, ISPOR 2017, Boston, MA, USA
Value in Health, Vol. 20, No. 5 (May 2017)
Code
IN3
Topic
Health Service Delivery & Process of Care
Topic Subcategory
Treatment Patterns and Guidelines
Disease
Respiratory-Related Disorders