Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2022 Jan;52(1):21-29.
doi: 10.1111/imj.15081.

Mobile applications for the management of chronic physical conditions: a systematic review

Laura Jiménez-Muñoz  1   2   3 , Luis Gutiérrez-Rojas  4 , Alejandro Porras-Segovia  1   2 , Philippe Courtet  5   6 , Enrique Baca-García  1   2   4   7   8   9   10   11
Affiliations

Mobile applications for the management of chronic physical conditions: a systematic review

Laura Jiménez-Muñoz et al. Intern Med J. 2022 Jan.

Abstract

Background: Chronic physical conditions (CPC) decrease the quality of life of millions of people. In the absence of curative treatments, maintaining healthy lifestyle habits is one of the main pillars in their clinical management. Mobile-based interventions may help patients take care of their health and follow medical recommendations. The purpose of this review is to summarise the latest evidence about mobile telephone applications (apps) for the management of CPC.

Methods: We performed a systematic search of the PubMed and EMBASE databases to identify articles that explored apps for the management of CPC, testing the apps empirically and providing clear outputs on effectiveness and/or feasibility. A total of 3528 articles were identified in the initial search. Following screening and selection process, 20 articles were included in the final review.

Results: Mobile apps for CPC are very heterogeneous. The condition with the greater number of apps available was diabetes, followed by cardiovascular diseases. Results of feasibility were generally positive, with high rates of study completion and user engagement. Some studies used incentives, monetary of otherwise. Some of the apps have been tested in randomised controlled trials showing effectiveness in improving symptoms and/or controlling analytical parameters.

Conclusions: Mobile apps are promising tools for the management of CPC. Some apps have been sufficiently tested to propose their implementation in clinical practice. However, several barriers exist that can slow down the routine use of new technologies in healthcare settings.

Keywords: chronic physical conditions; e-health; m-health; mobile applications.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. O'Halloran J, Miller GC, Britt H. Defining chronic conditions for primary care with ICPC-2. Fam Pract 2004; 21: 381-6.
    1. Mills S, Brady T, Jayanthan J, Ziabakhsh S, Sargious P. Toward consensus on self-management support: the international chronic condition self-management support framework. Health Promot Int 2017; 32: 942-52.
    1. Sharma A, Harrington R, McClellan M, Turakhia M, Eapen Z, Steinhubl S et al. Using digital health technology to better generate evidence and deliver evidence-based care. J Am Coll Cardiol 2018; 71: 2680-90.
    1. Boehmer K, Holland D, Vanderboom C. Identifying and addressing gaps in the implementation of a community care team for care of patients with multiple chronic conditions. BMC Health Serv Res 2019; 19: 843.
    1. Rosen S, Fox MP. Retention in HIV care between testing and treatment in sub-Saharan Africa: a systematic review. PLoS Med 2011; 8: e1001056.

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources