The prevalence and usage of mobile health applications among mental health patients in Saudi Arabia (original) (raw)
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Mobile health applications for mental illnesses: An Asian context
Asian Journal of Psychiatry, 2020
Advances in digital technologies have created unprecedented opportunities to assess and improve health behavior and health outcomes. Evidence indicates that a majority of the world's population, including traditionally underserved populations and low-and middle-income countries, has access to mobile technologies (phones, tablets, mobile devices). Given the widespread access to mobile technology worldwide, health behavior-change tools delivered on mobile platforms enable broader reach and scalability of evidence-based assessment and interventions, especially for addressing the growing burden of mental health disorders globally. The purpose of this article was to present a qualitative review of mobile mental health applications in an Asian context. We searched on-line databases and included 19 articles in this review. We have identified mobile health applications that address eight categories of mental illnesses. These applications were developed in only six countries and regions in Asia. Future studies from more diverse countries for diverse cultures should be conducted to examine the advantages and disadvantages of mobile health technology.
Mobile health apps use among Jordanian outpatients: A descriptive study
Health Informatics Journal
Our purpose in this descriptive cross-sectional study was to examine the prevalence of mobile health (mHealth) apps use, factors associated with downloading mHealth apps, and to describe characteristics of mHealth apps use among Jordanian patients in government-sponsored outpatient clinics. A total of 182 (41.6%) of the 438 outpatients who completed questionnaires downloaded mHealth apps. Common reasons for downloading mHealth apps included tracking physical activity, losing weight, learning exercises, as well as monitoring, and controlling diet. More than two thirds of the users (70%) stopped using the apps they downloaded due to loss of interest, lack of anticipated support, too time consuming, or better apps available. The most common personal reasons for never downloading mHealth apps were lack of interest, in good health, and the most common technical reasons included a limited data plan, lack of trust, cost, and complexity of the apps. We also found that gender, age, weight, a...
Smartphone Applications for Mental Health
Cyberpsychology, behavior and social networking, 2016
Many adolescents and adults do not seek treatment for mental health symptoms. Smartphone applications (apps) may assist individuals with mental health concerns in alleviating symptoms or increasing understanding. This study seeks to characterize apps readily available to smartphone users seeking mental health information and/or support. Ten key terms were searched in the Apple iTunes and Google Play stores: mental health, depression, anxiety, schizophrenia, bipolar, trauma, trauma in schools, post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), child trauma, and bullying. A content analysis of the first 20 application descriptions retrieved per category was conducted. Out of 300 nonduplicate applications, 208 (70%) were relevant to search topic, mental health or stress. The most common purported purpose for the apps was symptom relief (41%; n = 85) and general mental health education (18%; n = 37). The most frequently mentioned approaches to improving mental health were those that may benefit onl...
Scope of Mobile Phones in Mental Health Care in Low Resource Settings
Journal of Mobile Technology in Medicine, 2016
Mobile apps are used as an aid in the mental health services in many high income countries. The present study was conducted to assess frequency of mobile phone use amongst patients with mental illness. Methods: Patients attending psychiatric outpatient department of a public funded tertiary care hospital in India were assessed for use of mobile phone and its possible utility in mental health service delivery using a semi structured questionnaire. Results: The study had 350 subjects, out of whom 307 (87.7%) reported using mobile phone on a regular basis. Mobile phone was used for phone calls, sending and receiving short text messages (SMS) recreation, and accessing social networking sites. Most of the users agreed that the mobile phone could be used as an aid in mental health service delivery, and expressed willingness to receive educational messages. Conclusion: Patients with mental illness attending psychiatric outpatient services in India use mobile phones and are willing to use as a treatment aid.
JMIR mHealth and uHealth, 2014
Patient retrospective recollection is a mainstay of assessing symptoms in mental health and psychiatry. However, evidence suggests that these retrospective recollections may not be as accurate as data collection though the experience sampling method (ESM), which captures patient data in "real time" and "real life." However, the difficulties in practical implementation of ESM data collection have limited its impact in psychiatry and mental health. Smartphones with the capability to run mobile applications may offer a novel method of collecting ESM data that may represent a practical and feasible tool for mental health and psychiatry. This paper aims to provide data on psychiatric patients' prevalence of smartphone ownership, patterns of use, and interest in utilizing mobile applications to monitor their mental health conditions. One hundred psychiatric outpatients at a large urban teaching hospital completed a paper-and-pencil survey regarding smartphone owner...
2021
The aims of this study are to explore the types and patterns of use of health mobile apps among pharmacy clients in Selangor, Malaysia, and to explore the users' experiences and views regarding the benefits of and issues with the use of the health apps. Patients and Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted with 278 pharmacy clients who were using health apps on their smartphones. A survey was developed, piloted, and rolled out, comprised of socio-demographic characteristics, information regarding the common types and the pattern of health app use, the benefits of health apps, and issues that users faced while using these apps. Statistical analysis was performed using IBM SPSS version 21. Results: The mean (±SD) age of health app users was 29.8 (±11.74) years old, and over half of them (51.8%) were male, while less than half were female (48.2%). There were 48 different types of mobile health apps used by the participants in this study. The two most common were multipurpose general health apps (53.6%) and fitness apps (38.1%). In terms of pattern of use, 33.5% of the participants reported using their health apps daily, 36.7% at least once weekly, and 25.2% monthly. The main benefits reported by the users were tracking of health status (47%), motivation (41%), and knowledge about health and fitness (9%). The main issues reported by the participants included inaccuracy of the app (24%), inconvenience (20.7%), and not being user-friendly (18.5%). Conclusion: The study showed that the participants used many different types of mobile health apps for several purposes, including general health, wellness, fitness, and selfmanagement of diseases. These apps helped the participants to track their health-related activities and motivated them to maintain their wellness and fitness. Further areas of improvement were identified to ensure evidence-based and effective utilization of apps to achieve required health outcomes.
Prevalence and Determinants of Mobile Health Applications Usage: A National Descriptive Study
We aimed to determine the prevalence of MHAs' usage and explore the context and determinants of using MHAs among inhabitants in Saudi Arabia (SA). This cross-sectional study randomly selected 679 adult inhabitants from the 20 health regions in SA through an electronic, self-administered, well-structured, and validated Arabic questionnaire. The prevalence of using MHAs was 47.9%, and it was significantly higher among younger, Saudis, highly educated, and working participants, as well as those with chronic diseases (p < 0.05). The main motives for using MHAs were to promote health status (68.6%) and to lose weight (33.2%). The most used apps were related to daily steps-counting (54.2%), and among females was tracking ovulation period apps (43.5%). The most common reported advantage of using MHAs was saving time (64%). Despite the potential benefits of MHAs, they were used by only about half of the study participants in SA. The most effective MHAs in improving health status were exercise, calorie-related, water uptake, and daily steps-counting apps. Policymakers looking to address reform aimed at improving health with mobile apps will find our study interesting.
Awareness of Mental Health Applications among Smartphone Users in India: A Population-Based Survey
https://www.ijhsr.org/IJHSR\_Vol.10\_Issue.8\_Aug2020/IJHSR\_Abstract.036.html, 2020
Background and Objectives: In the present era, modern technology has paved the way for multifunctional devices like smart phones and smart watches. There are around 4.3 million smart phone users in India. And with 2.5 million apps-available across Google and Apple's digital marketplaces, smart phones are impacting day-today life in some surprising ways. The smart use of Smartphone increases your brain's functioning helping to stay active. About 89% of the population in India say they are suffering from stress compared to the global average of 86. The purpose of this study is to find the awareness of mental health applications in Indian smart phone users so that it can be utilized for improving mental health. Methodology: A population based online survey was conducted wherein 303 responses were documented all across the country to determine the smartphone and health app usage. Subjects were asked to fill the online Google form survey. A cross-sectional survey assessed smartphone and health app usage. Further, three focus group discussions evaluated the needs and apprehensions in using these apps. And the idea of using these applications as a platform for improving brain functions was also discussed. Results: A total of 303 Indians participated in this online survey. Out of which 50.8% population accepted that they are aware of most of the applications in their phones while 46.2% stated that they are aware of only few applications in their smartphones. Out of these only 30.2% are aware of mental health applications which show that irrespective of knowing all the applications of their smartphones most of the population are not aware of mental health apps which suggest the need of awareness of mental health apps among smartphone users in India before launching various mental health applications. Conclusion: Without awareness among people designing mental health apps (MHApps) will be misleading, as the research results yielded despite the knowledge of almost all the Apps in smartphones the ratio of awareness of people for MHApps is very low which suggests the urgent need of awareness of MHApps among people for better delivery of mental health services in India.
JMIR Mental Health, 2014
Background Despite growing interest in mobile mental health and utilization of smartphone technology to monitor psychiatric symptoms, there remains a lack of knowledge both regarding patient ownership of smartphones and their interest in using such to monitor their mental health. Objective To provide data on psychiatric outpatients’ prevalence of smartphone ownership and interest in using their smartphones to run applications to monitor their mental health. Methods We surveyed 320 psychiatric outpatients from four clinics around the United States in order to capture a geographically and socioeconomically diverse patient population. These comprised a state clinic in Massachusetts (n=108), a county clinic in California (n=56), a hybrid public and private clinic in Louisiana (n=50), and a private/university clinic in Wisconsin (n=106). Results Smartphone ownership and interest in utilizing such to monitor mental health varied by both clinic type and age with overall ownership of 62.5% ...
Original Research Article: Mobile Apps for Mental Health: a content analysis
Indian Journal of Mental Health, 2020
Background: The mobile phone is arguably one of the fastest spreading and adopted technologies in the world. Various applications (Apps) and their uses are relatively new in health care, their usages are increasing phenomenally. This paper is aimed at analyzing different features of mental health-related apps. Methodology: This study examines multiple dimensions of mental health-related apps available in Google Play Store for four years between 2016 and 2020. We used a set of keywords such as mental health, mental illness, mental disorders, and the cure of mental disorder and the healing of mental illness to search apps available on the play store. We scrapped the data using various software and programming tools. Results: Our results show that mental health Apps mainly deal with following symptoms: depression, anxiety, general mental health, stress, post traumatic-stress disorder, bipolar disorder, panic disorder, sleep disorder, schizophrenia, obsessive-compulsive disorder, substance abuse (drug and alcohol), addiction (technology, etc). On the other hand, Apps offer various approach to improve mental health. The approaches include relaxation, stress management, symptom tracking, calming audio, keeping a diary, connect with mental health resources, interpersonal support, meditation, and mood tracking. Conclusion: These easy to use and interactive mental health apps dealt with specific mental health concerns. Relaxation was the common technique used to deal with these concerns. It was difficult to predict the trustworthiness these apps by looking at their rating and the number of people who rated.