Current status of postnatal depression smartphone applications available on application stores: an information quality analysis

OBJECTIVES: It is the aim of the current research to identify some common functionalities of postnatal application, and to determine the quality of the information content of postnatal depression application using validated scales that have been applied for applications in other specialties. SETTINGS AND PARTICIPANTS: To determine the information quality of the postnatal depression smartphone applications, the two most widely used smartphone application stores, namely Apple iTunes as well as Google Android Play store, were searched between 20May and 31 May. No participants were involved. The inclusion criteria for the application were that it must have been searchable using the keywords ‘postnatal’, ‘pregnancy’, ‘perinatal’, ‘postpartum’ and ‘depression’, and must be in English language. INTERVENTION: The Silberg Scale was used in the assessment of the information quality of the smartphone applications. PRIMARY AND SECONDARY OUTCOMES MEASURE: The information quality score was the primary outcome measure. RESULTS: Our current results highlighted that while there is currently a myriad of applications, only 14 applications are specifically focused on postnatal depression. In addition, the majority of the currently available applications on the store have only disclosed their last date of modification as well as ownership. There remain very limited disclosures about the information of the authors, as well as the references for the information included in the application itself. The average score for the Silberg Scale for the postnatal applications we have analysed is 3.0. CONCLUSIONS: There remains a need for healthcare professionals and developers to jointly conceptualise new applications with better information quality and evidence base.