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Clinical relevance of smartphone apps for diabetes management: A global overview
Author(s) -
Huang Zhilian,
Soljak Michael,
Boehm Bernhard Otto,
Car Josip
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
diabetes/metabolism research and reviews
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.307
H-Index - 110
eISSN - 1520-7560
pISSN - 1520-7552
DOI - 10.1002/dmrr.2990
Subject(s) - popularity , android (operating system) , diabetes mellitus , medicine , internet privacy , medline , context (archaeology) , relevance (law) , health care , medical education , world wide web , family medicine , computer science , psychology , political science , social psychology , paleontology , law , biology , endocrinology , operating system
Background We assessed the number, proportion, and clinical relevance of diabetes self‐management apps in major languages spoken by 10 countries with the highest number of people with diabetes. Methods China, India, USA, Brazil, Russian Federation, Mexico, Indonesia, Egypt, Japan, and Pakistan were identified as the 10 countries with the largest number of people with diabetes based on the latest NCD‐RisC survey. Android and iOS apps in the 10 national languages were extracted with a search strategy. App titles and descriptions were systematically screened by trained reviewers, including apps specific for diabetes self‐management and excluding apps for health care providers, general well‐being, health and product promotion, and traditional cure. Eighteen apps in the above languages were then downloaded based on availability and popularity and assessed for clinical relevance to diabetes self‐management with reference to current clinical guidelines. Results The diabetes‐related search terms identified 3374 Android and 4477 iOS apps, where 1019 Android and 1303 iOS apps were screened as being relevant for diabetes self‐management. Chinese and English language apps constitute above 80% of the diabetes apps, have more downloads, and more comprehensive clinically relevant functions compared with other languages. None of the apps assessed met all criteria for information provision and app functionalities nor provided information cited from accredited sources. Conclusions Our study showed that apps could play an important role in complementing multifaceted diabetes care, but should preferably be regulated, context specific, and more tailored to users' needs with clear guidance for patients and clinicians about the choices.