Review article (meta-analysis)
Systematic Review of Mobile Health Applications in Rehabilitation

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apmr.2018.07.439Get rights and content

Abstract

Objective

To conduct systematic review to better define how medical mobile applications (apps) have been used in environments relevant to physical medicine and rehabilitation.

Data Sources

PUBMED, IEEE, ACM Digital Library, SCOPUS, INSPEC, and EMBASE.

Study Selection

A 10-year date limit was used, spanning publication dates from June 1, 2006, to June 30, 2016. Terms related to physical medicine and rehabilitation as well as mobile apps were used in 10 individual search strategies.

Data Extraction

Two investigators screened abstracts and applied inclusion and exclusion criteria. Full-length articles were retrieved. Duplicate articles were removed. If a study met all criteria, the article was reviewed in full.

Data Synthesis

Specific variables of interest were extracted and added to summary tables. Summary tables were used to categorize studies according themes, and a list of app features was generated.

Conclusions

The search yielded abstracts from 8116 studies, and 102 studies were included in the systematic review. Approximately one-third of the studies evaluated apps as interventions, and the remaining two-thirds of the studies assessed functioning of the app or participant interaction with the app. Some apps may have positive benefits when used to deliver exercise or gait training interventions, as self-management systems, or as measurement tools.

Registration

The protocol was registered with the International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews (PROSPERO) network (no. CRD42016046672).

Section snippets

Methods

The review was conducted according to Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis guidelines. The protocol was registered with the International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews network (no. CRD42016046672).

Results

Figure 2 provides a detailed overview of the exclusion process. The search generated abstracts from 8116 studies. After applying inclusion and exclusion criteria, a total of 102 studies were included in the systematic review. Table 4 lists the frequencies of the important functionalities, operating systems, and study designs of the apps. Additional characteristics of the apps, organized by theme, are outlined below.

Discussion

To our knowledge, this article is the first systematic review of studies on the use of mHealth apps in the rehabilitation field. Two-thirds of the studies assessed functioning of the app or participant interaction with the app, and approximately one-third attempted to study the effect of the app as an intervention.

Conclusions

This systematic review addressed over 100 articles evaluating mHealth apps relevant to rehabilitation populations. Approximately one-third of these studies evaluated apps as interventions. Apps were shown to have good psychometric properties when being used to replace some paper-based data collection tools and to measure some physical activity or gait parameters. Studies also revealed patient-centered app designs that accommodate a variety of user impairments and navigation, self-reporting, and

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    The contents of this publication were developed under grants from the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research (NIDILRR grant numbers 90DPGE0002-01-01, 90DP0064-01-00, and 90DP5004-01-00). NIDILRR is a Center within the Administration for Community Living (ACL), Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The contents of this publication do not necessarily represent the views of the Department of Veterans Affairs or the United States Government, nor do they necessarily represent the policy of NIDILRR, ACL, or HHS.

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