JMIR mHealth and uHealth
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JMIR mHealth and uHealth · Mar 2018
ReviewConsumer Mobile Apps for Potential Drug-Drug Interaction Check: Systematic Review and Content Analysis Using the Mobile App Rating Scale (MARS).
General consumers can now easily access drug information and quickly check for potential drug-drug interactions (PDDIs) through mobile health (mHealth) apps. With aging population in Canada, more people have chronic diseases and comorbidities leading to increasing numbers of medications. The use of mHealth apps for checking PDDIs can be helpful in ensuring patient safety and empowerment. ⋯ Some apps provided accurate and comprehensive information about potential adverse drug effects from PDDIs. Given the potentially severe consequences of incorrect drug information, there is a need for oversight to eliminate low quality and potentially harmful apps. Because managing PDDIs is complex in the absence of complete information, secondary features such as medication reminder, refill reminder, medication history tracking, and pill identification could help enhance the effectiveness of PDDI apps.
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JMIR mHealth and uHealth · Mar 2018
Self-Directed Engagement with a Mobile App (Sinasprite) and Its Effects on Confidence in Coping Skills, Depression, and Anxiety: Retrospective Longitudinal Study.
Inadequacies in mental health care coverage remain an enormous problem in the United States. Barriers include scarcity of accessible mental health care professionals. Use of a mental health mobile app incorporating social cognitive theory may help improve confidence in coping skills and improve anxiety and depression. Sinasprite is a mobile app that recruited users via self-referral and clinician referral. Users completed questionnaires to obtain demographic and medical histories. At baseline and 6-week follow-up, users completed the Patient Health Questionnaire 8 (PHQ-8), General Anxiety Disorder 7-Item (GAD-7), and the Coping Self-Efficacy Scale (CSE). It is unknown how self-directed use of a mobile app improves confidence in coping skills and its effects on self-reported depression and anxiety. ⋯ This 6-week retrospective study showed that self-directed use of the mobile app, Sinasprite, resulted in significant improvements in self-reported questionnaire scores reflecting depression, anxiety, and confidence in coping skills.