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. 2021 Oct 20:7:56.
doi: 10.21037/mhealth-20-126. eCollection 2021.

A systematic review of smartphone apps for gastro-oesophageal reflux disease: the need for regulation and medical professional involvement

Lekshmi Suseela Venugopal  1 , Aya Musbahi  2 , Venkatesh Shanmugam  1 , Bussa Gopinath  2
Affiliations

A systematic review of smartphone apps for gastro-oesophageal reflux disease: the need for regulation and medical professional involvement

Lekshmi Suseela Venugopal et al. Mhealth. .

Abstract

Background: Expansion in smartphone use and mobile health (mHealth) apps has generated a large and unregulated sector. Gastro-oesophageal Reflux Disease (GORD) is a widely prevalent disease in the UK. The aim of this study is to evaluate the smartphone apps focused on GORD, available on major digital platforms, with particular emphasis on their recorded evidence base (EB) and the extent of medical professional involvement (MPI) in their constitution.

Methods: Relevant apps were extracted using defined search terms and inclusion (using a wide array of search terms) and exclusion criteria (non-English language, duplicates) were applied. Data was collected from the overview provided by the developer in the app store and from the developer website for each app, and classified according to various variables. EB and professional involvement data was obtained from the application details provided in the app stores as well as information section of individual apps.

Results: A vast majority of the apps (97.3%) were developed targeting the general public. Of the 73 apps, 11 (15.1%) had a documented EB. Two apps stated if healthcare professionals were involved in the development, screening or assessment of the app content, meaning only 2.73% of the apps (2/73) stated their content had been contributed by medical professionals (individual, group or organisation of health providers). Thirty-four apps had recent updates in 2019 (47%, 34/73).

Conclusions: Regulation and accreditation of mHealth apps related to GORD are needed.

Keywords: Gastro-oesophageal Reflux Disease (GORD); Smartphone applications; mobile health (mHealth).

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflicts of Interest: All authors have completed the ICMJE uniform disclosure form (available at http://dx.doi.org/10.21037/mhealth-20-126). The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
PRISMA flow chart (n=number of applications).
Figure 2
Figure 2
Charts showing last updates of GORD Apps and number of GORD Apps released between 2013 and 2019. GORD, Gastro-oesophageal Reflux Disease.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Chart showing the number of GORD apps in various categories. GORD, Gastro-oesophageal Reflux Disease.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Pie chart showing the evidence standards classification of DHTs and MPI in Tier 3a applications. DHT, Digital Health Technology; MPI, medical professional involvement.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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