Table 2.
Description of mHealth Use Among Primary Care Patients Who Report Such Use (n = 353)
| mHealth Use | Primary Care Patients Reporting Use |
|---|---|
| Mobile health use and type | |
| Find health information | 324 (91.8) |
| Use health apps | 202 (57.2) |
| Track or manage health condition | 191 (54.1) |
| Frequency of mHealth use (n = 349) | |
| Once a month or less | 130 (37.3) |
| 2–3 times a month | 111 (31.8) |
| 1–6 times a week | 70 (20.1) |
| Once a day or more | 38 (10.9) |
| Favorite app (n = 235) | |
| General health app (eg, WedMD, iTriage, Mayo Clinic) | 85 (36.2) |
| Activity/fitness (eg, My Fitness Pal) | 34 (14.5) |
| Weight/diet (eg, Weight Watchers, LoseIt) | 24 (10.2) |
| Reproductive (menstrual, pregnancy, or infant trackers) | 19 (8.1) |
| Web search (eg, Google, Bing) | 18 (7.7) |
| More than one favorite app | 18 (7.7) |
| Other (eg, goal trackers, smoking logs) | 14 (6.0) |
| Patient portal (eg, e-care, MyChart) | 10 (4.3) |
| Medication (eg, pharmacy app, pill trackers) | 7 (3.0) |
| Disease specific (eg, glucose monitoring, mood monitoring) | 6 (2.6) |
| Ever stopped using an app after a short time (n = 310) | 122 (39.4) |
| Reasons cited for stopping use of an app after a short time (n = 98) | |
| Took too much time | 47 (48.0) |
| Didn’t do what you wanted | 32 (32.7) |
| Problem with login/password | 6 (6.1) |
| Other | 13 (13.3) |
| How mHealth users learned about apps (n = 277) | |
| Doctor/clinic | 27 (9.8) |
| Family/friend | 37 (13.4) |
| Website/Internet | 150 (54.2) |
| Flier/mail/other ad | 7 (2.5) |
| Other (eg, “app store”) | 56 (20.2) |
| Importance for PCPs to know about mHealth use (n = 311) | |
| Very important | 37 (11.9) |
| Important | 59 (19.0) |
| A little important | 93 (29.9) |
| Not at all important | 122 (39.2) |
| My doctor has recommended a health app (n = 322) | 22 (6.8) |
| How useful this feature would be on your phone* | |
| Appointment reminders (n = 318) | 4.0 ± 1.4 |
| Medication reminders (n = 312) | 3.6 ± 1.7 |
| General health information (n = 314) | 3.5 ± 1.4 |
| Track progress (eg, mood, weight) (n = 310) | 3.5 ± 1.5 |
| Help changing a habit (n = 308) | 3.2 ± 1.7 |
| Feedback on how I’m doing (n = 312) | 3.2 ± 1.6 |
| Tell doctor how I’m doing (n = 311) | 3.2 ± 1.7 |
| Stress management/coping (n = 310) | 3.1 ± 1.7 |
| Support group/social network (n = 308) | 2.3 ± 1.8 |
| Tell friend/family how I’m doing (n = 305) | 1.9 ± 1.8 |
Data are number (%) or mean ± standard deviation.
*
Usefulness of the features was rated on a scale of 0 (least useful) to 5 (most useful).
PCPs, primary care providers.