Table 3.
Review articles on quality and effectiveness of apps in English related to mental health
| Category | Source | Country of search | Dates of search | Number apps from search | Number apps evaluated, downloaded, included | Conclusion | Study |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Medication adherence | Google Play, Apple App store | UK | Apr 2015 | 5888 |
805 evaluated; 681 included; 420 free downloaded |
“the vast majority of current adherence app offerings on repositories lack any evidence base of effectiveness” | Ahmed et al. (2018) |
| Prevent driving after drinking | Google Play, Apple App store | Australia | Jun 2015 | 2907 |
70 evaluated; 58 included. |
“Most apps for drink driving prevention are not engaging, and none have as yet been tested in trials to determine their effectiveness in reducing drink driving behavior” | Wilson et al. (2016) |
| Suicide prevention | Google Play, Apple iTunes store | Australia | Unspecified | 1271 |
856 evaluated 123 downloaded; 49 included. |
“Clinicians should be wary in recommending apps, especially as potentially harmful content can be presented as helpful” | Larsen et al. (2016a) |
| Crystal methamphetamine | Google Play, Apple iTunes store | Australia | Apr 2017 | 2205 |
1983 evaluated; 30 downloaded; 18 included. |
“This study demonstrates a shortage of high-quality educational and engaging smartphone apps specifically related to methamphetamine” | Chapman et al. (2018) |
| Sleep self-management | Google Play, Apple iTunes store, Amazon Appstore, Microsoft Appstore | US | Apr 2017 | 2431 |
1981 evaluated; 148 downloaded; 73 included. |
“few apps meet prespecified criteria for quality, content, and functionality for sleep self-management. Despite the rapid evolution of sleep self-management apps, lack of validation studies is a significant concern that limits the clinical value of these apps” | Choi et al. (2018) |
| Bipolar Disorder | Google Play, Apple App store | Australia | Jul 2014 | 571 |
438 evaluated; 82 included. |
“In general, the content of currently available apps for BD is not in line with practice guidelines or established self-management principles” | Nicholas et al. (2015) |
| Depression - CBT or behavioral activation apps | Google Play, Apple App store, literature | Canada | Nov 2015 | 310 |
117 evaluated; 12 included. |
“Despite the growing public demand, there is a concerning lack of appropriate CBT or BA apps, especially from a clinical and legal point of view” | Huguet et al. (2016) |
| Attention and cognitive bias modification apps | Google Play, Apple iTunes store | Singapore | Sept, 2017 | 98 | 17 included. | “only 1 commercial app had been evaluated in the published literature” | Zhang et al. (2018) |
| Physical activity | Google Play, Apple iTunes store | UK | Oct, 2016 | 400 |
156 evaluated; 65 included. |
“..there were substantial shortcomings in the areas of data safety and likelihood of effectiveness of the apps assessed” | Bondaronek et al. (2018) |
| Social anxiety | Google Play, Apple iTunes, Windows store | New Zealand | June, 2016 | 1154 |
73 identified 38 randomly included. |
“none of the apps identified have had studies on their effectiveness published” | Alyami et al. (2017) |
| Anxiety | Google Play, Apple App store | European app stores | Jan, 2017 | 5078 |
4404 evaluated; 73 downloaded; 52 included. |
“there is a marked discrepancy between the wealth of commercially available apps, and the paucity of data regarding their efficacy and effectiveness” | Sucala et al. (2017) |
| Smoking cessation for those with psychosis | Google Play, Apple iTunes store | US | July, 2013 | 766 |
100 evaluated; 73 included, 9 further analyzed. |
“ongoing poor quality of most apps”. “smoking cessation apps may be inaccessible or ineffective for most smokers with psychotic disorders” | Ferron et al. (2017) |
| Weight management | Google Play, Apple iTunes store | Australia | Aug, 2014 | 800 most popular |
55 evaluated; 28 included. |
“Overall, the most popular commercial apps for weight management are suboptimal in quality, given the inadequate scientific coverage and accuracy of weight-related information…” | Chen et al. (2015) |
| Insomnia | Google Play, Apple iTunes store | US | Nov, 2016 | 355 | 12 included. | “despite the hundreds of apps available,…few are adherent to the evidence-based skills and strategies that have been shown effective in managing insomnia” | Yu et al. (2019) |