Developments in technology have made it easier for patients to play an active role in their health, and there are thousands of mobile apps designed to help people improve their health behaviors [4]. However, their effectiveness in changing health behaviors and outcomes has not been convincingly established. In this systematic review, we examined 52 randomized controlled trials evaluating the effectiveness of mobile health apps. Overall, there was little significant evidence supporting the effectiveness of mobile health apps for any of those outcomes.
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Samsung Gear Fit is a South Korean multinational conglomerate with its headquarters in Samsung Town, Seoul, Republic of Korea, offer a platform for self-monitoring, fostering the potential for positive behavior changes towards a healthier lifestyle. These devices are commonly worn on the wrist and facilitate health management by enabling users to effortlessly generate health-related data, monitor daily activities, and quantify aspects like step count, calories burned, heart rate, and sleep patterns. WATs also play a crucial role in clinical settings, demonstrating valuable applications in patient care and self-health management, particularly for conditions like obesity and diabetes. Despite extensive research across diverse disciplines, there remains a fragmented landscape in WAT-related studies. A randomized controlled trial by Kim et al. [24] examined the impact of behavior change techniques delivered through wearable devices on oxygen saturation levels in patients with chronic respiratory conditions. The intervention group received wearable devices that tracked their oxygen saturation levels and provided prompts for adherence to respiratory exercises and medication routines.
Study Selection
Therefore, study populations could be general or specific with regard to demographic variables. However, to keep the focus on the effectiveness of mobile health apps in the general population, subgroups such as pregnant women and patients with specific diseases (including HIV, posttraumatic stress disorder, alcoholism, and chronic depression) were excluded. Mobile apps are an interesting channel to support this effort because they integrate functionalities such as goal setting or self-monitoring that have been proven to foster behavior change. However, app efficiency can be improved by responding to user preferences according to their specific profiles.
Are behavior change apps backed by scientific evidence or marketing hype?
One reviewer screened titles and abstracts of remaining references in Rayyan and then conducted a full-text review. External rewards, such as those offered by gamified apps, can be excellent for initiating behaviour. When the motivation stems from within, the likelihood of sustained effort increases exponentially. MyFitnessPal is a prime example of an app using self-monitoring and feedback loops for behavioural change.
- Over the 6-month study period, adherence to the trial was statistically significantly higher in the mobile phone app group compared with the online website group and the paper diary group.
- Articles from JMIR Formative Research are provided here courtesy of JMIR Publications Inc.
- Despite extensive research across diverse disciplines, there remains a fragmented landscape in WAT-related studies.
- MHealth interventions have a positive impact on some chronic diseases in developing countries [63] and text messaging has been recognized as a successful tool to improve behavior change outcomes [13,15].
- For temperature, wearables often use embedded thermistors or similar components to measure skin temperature, which, while not core body temperature, can provide valuable health insights.
- The Health4Life app is the first mobile app intervention specifically designed with, and for, adolescents to concurrently address the Big 6 risk behaviors.
Behavior Change Theory
By exploring the effectiveness and impact of behavior change techniques facilitated by these technologies, the study underscores their potential to empower individuals to adopt healthier lifestyles and achieve long-term behavior modifications. Through an examination of relevant studies, the paper highlights the importance of precise definitions and thorough reporting of BCTs, as well as the establishment of a coherent connection between interventions and theoretical mechanisms. This comprehensive understanding is crucial for designing and implementing madmuscles customer reviews effective interventions for behavior change using wearable and IoT technologies.
The score for each dimension is calculated by adding the scores for the two statements concerning the dimension after reversing the items. Unlimited habits, advanced statistics, and cloud backup make a difference for serious users. If an app helps you build lasting habits, the subscription is usually worth the investment in yourself. The app features celebrity-narrated sleep stories that help you drift off peacefully. Stars like Matthew McConaughey and Harry Styles have recorded content for the app. Using an inductive approach, comments and recommendations were grouped into themes by one researcher (BO), cross-checked by a second researcher (LT) and then used to inform refinements and modifications.
Effectiveness of Multicomponent Versus Standalone App Interventions
Whether that translates into sustained health improvement at six or twelve months is murkier. The research on long-term effectiveness is genuinely mixed, and many studies suffer from small samples and high dropout rates. The target population for this study included all individuals older than 18 years who understood French. We chose to conduct the questionnaire in French as this population was not necessarily fluent in English and comprised mainly native French speakers.
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Tracking specific behaviors for children, for instance, works best when tied to concrete, meaningful outcomes rather than abstract scores. A meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials found that smartphone interventions reduced self-reported anxiety symptoms meaningfully, with effect sizes comparable to some brief in-person interventions. And then there’s a category of general habit trackers, Habitica, Streaks, Strides, that are essentially blank canvases onto which users project whatever behavior they’re trying to change.
After the initial gathering and screening of studies, articles were selected based on predefined eligibility criteria. The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest. Analysis of potential associations between BCTs and engagement and the evidence for the association. A6 papers are absent from the table, as they did not include engagement measures (Garnett et al., 2015; Whiteley et al., 2018; Curtis et al., 2019; Sporrel et al., 2020; Ahonkhai et al., 2021; Smith et al., 2022). References were imported into EndNote X9 for duplicate removal and initial screening using the EndNote search function (Supplementary Appendix 3).
Reminder Strategies
The first credibility strategy is real-world feel and it is characterized by providing information about people or organization behind the app’s content. In addition, 11 apps offered expertise in the design of the components of the app and information provided. All mental health apps, like all health apps, should provide information that is scientifically proven and evidence-based. Possessing the adequate technical skills to be able to develop an app is not enough for designing apps that will effectively improve or support mental health.
Therefore, the results of this review cannot be generalized to all health behaviors. In addition, this review only considered published randomized controlled trials. This may have missed more recently developed apps that have not progressed to that stage of testing yet, or that might not have been tested in an academic context. It may also overrepresent studies where an effect was found, as the grey literature was not searched for studies that may have found null results and not been published. Mobile health applications have the potential to empower people to improve their health behaviors and self-manage health conditions (Forman et al., 2016; Moller et al., 2017; Digital Implementation Investment Guide [DIIG], 2020). They are widely available, with a large global market (Grand View Research, 2021), and provide a means of delivering far-reaching behavioral interventions.
Information and Education provides insight into the general consequences of behavior and offers personalized information to individuals regarding the effects of specific behavior on their well-being. Self-Regulation and Coping Strategies focuses on enhancing awareness of the disparities between current behavior and desired goals while formulating strategies to prevent relapse and manage potential challenges, such as stress-related eating triggers. Self-Monitoring and Feedback involves tracking and recording the target behavior, assessing its outcomes, and receiving information or feedback on both the behavior itself and its results, thereby increasing motivation and awareness. Skill Training and Demonstration provides explicit instructions and visual demonstrations on how to perform the behavior correctly, making learning more accessible. These categories collectively encompass a comprehensive framework for understanding and implementing behavior change techniques. PubMed, EMBASE, CINAHL, and Web of Science were systematically searched for articles published between 2014 and 2019 that evaluated mobile apps for health behavior change.
Credibility strategy posits that systems should have competent look and feel (Harjumaa and Oinas-Kukkonen, 2009) to attract users and motivate behavior. Moreover, Third-party endorsements were employed in only 6 apps by providing a logo of respected sources such as a logo of a known university that is behind the app or approved the app. Moreover, few mental health apps implemented Verifiability (4 apps), allowing users to find more information by linking to studies or reports that provide evidence to support their claim or evidence that informed their design. In the field of limitations, despite the promising potential of behavior change techniques facilitated by information technologies and wearables, several challenges and constraints warrant attention. One significant limitation lies in the reliance on user engagement and adherence to the prescribed interventions. While wearables and IoT devices offer personalized feedback and gamified features to enhance motivation, sustaining user interest and commitment over time remains a formidable obstacle.
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It can boost motivation through inspiring content or progress tracking, enhance ability by simplifying complex tasks into manageable steps, and provide timely prompts. In that regard, here is the crème de la crème of these digital companions, having a look at their methodologies and potential. The process of meaningful behavioral change is slower and messier than any app’s progress dashboard suggests.
Study Quality Assessment
If people do not report data as often as expected or stop using the app, the quantity and homogeneity of data to be processed will be reduced, producing lower quality outcomes. We will consider both definitions when reviewing the efficacy of the studies. Headspace and Calm built their names on guided meditation, but newer apps like Woebot deliver cognitive behavioral therapy through a digital platform, walking users through thought records and behavioral activation exercises. Research published in the Journal of Affective Disorders found that smartphone-based anxiety interventions produced statistically significant symptom reductions across randomized controlled trials, not just self-reported satisfaction scores. Mobile health apps have the potential to motivate people to adopt healthier behavior, but many fail to maintain this behavior over time.
