Cargando…

mHealth Solutions for Perinatal Mental Health: Scoping Review and Appraisal Following the mHealth Index and Navigation Database Framework

BACKGROUND: The ever-increasing pressure on health care systems has resulted in the underrecognition of perinatal mental disorders. Digital mental health tools such as apps could provide an option for accessible perinatal mental health screening and assessment. However, there is a lack of informatio...

Descripción completa

Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Spadaro, Benedetta, Martin-Key, Nayra A, Funnell, Erin, Bahn, Sabine
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: JMIR Publications 2022
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8804959/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/35037894
http://dx.doi.org/10.2196/30724
_version_ 1784643156803846144
author Spadaro, Benedetta
Martin-Key, Nayra A
Funnell, Erin
Bahn, Sabine
author_facet Spadaro, Benedetta
Martin-Key, Nayra A
Funnell, Erin
Bahn, Sabine
author_sort Spadaro, Benedetta
collection PubMed
description BACKGROUND: The ever-increasing pressure on health care systems has resulted in the underrecognition of perinatal mental disorders. Digital mental health tools such as apps could provide an option for accessible perinatal mental health screening and assessment. However, there is a lack of information regarding the availability and features of perinatal app options. OBJECTIVE: This study aims to evaluate the current state of diagnostic and screening apps for perinatal mental health available on the Google Play Store (Android) and Apple App Store (iOS) and to review their features following the mHealth Index and Navigation Database framework. METHODS: Following a scoping review approach, the Apple App Store and Google Play Store were systematically searched to identify perinatal mental health assessment apps. A total of 14 apps that met the inclusion criteria were downloaded and reviewed in a standardized manner using the mHealth Index and Navigation Database framework. The framework comprised 107 questions, allowing for a comprehensive assessment of app origin, functionality, engagement features, security, and clinical use. RESULTS: Most apps were developed by for-profit companies (n=10), followed by private individuals (n=2) and trusted health care companies (n=2). Out of the 14 apps, 3 were available only on Android devices, 4 were available only on iOS devices, and 7 were available on both platforms. Approximately one-third of the apps (n=5) had been updated within the last 180 days. A total of 12 apps offered the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale in its original version or in rephrased versions. Engagement, input, and output features included reminder notifications, connections to therapists, and free writing features. A total of 6 apps offered psychoeducational information and references. Privacy policies were available for 11 of the 14 apps, with a median Flesch-Kincaid reading grade level of 12.3. One app claimed to be compliant with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act standards and 2 apps claimed to be compliant with General Data Protection Regulation. Of the apps that could be accessed in full (n=10), all appeared to fulfill the claims stated in their description. Only 1 app referenced a relevant peer-reviewed study. All the apps provided a warning for use, highlighting that the mental health assessment result should not be interpreted as a diagnosis or as a substitute for medical care. Only 3 apps allowed users to export or email their mental health test results. CONCLUSIONS: These results indicate that there are opportunities to improve perinatal mental health assessment apps. To this end, we recommend focusing on the development and validation of more comprehensive assessment tools, ensuring data protection and safety features are adequate for the intended app use, and improving data sharing features between users and health care professionals for timely support.
format Online
Article
Text
id pubmed-8804959
institution National Center for Biotechnology Information
language English
publishDate 2022
publisher JMIR Publications
record_format MEDLINE/PubMed
spelling pubmed-88049592022-02-04 mHealth Solutions for Perinatal Mental Health: Scoping Review and Appraisal Following the mHealth Index and Navigation Database Framework Spadaro, Benedetta Martin-Key, Nayra A Funnell, Erin Bahn, Sabine JMIR Mhealth Uhealth Original Paper BACKGROUND: The ever-increasing pressure on health care systems has resulted in the underrecognition of perinatal mental disorders. Digital mental health tools such as apps could provide an option for accessible perinatal mental health screening and assessment. However, there is a lack of information regarding the availability and features of perinatal app options. OBJECTIVE: This study aims to evaluate the current state of diagnostic and screening apps for perinatal mental health available on the Google Play Store (Android) and Apple App Store (iOS) and to review their features following the mHealth Index and Navigation Database framework. METHODS: Following a scoping review approach, the Apple App Store and Google Play Store were systematically searched to identify perinatal mental health assessment apps. A total of 14 apps that met the inclusion criteria were downloaded and reviewed in a standardized manner using the mHealth Index and Navigation Database framework. The framework comprised 107 questions, allowing for a comprehensive assessment of app origin, functionality, engagement features, security, and clinical use. RESULTS: Most apps were developed by for-profit companies (n=10), followed by private individuals (n=2) and trusted health care companies (n=2). Out of the 14 apps, 3 were available only on Android devices, 4 were available only on iOS devices, and 7 were available on both platforms. Approximately one-third of the apps (n=5) had been updated within the last 180 days. A total of 12 apps offered the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale in its original version or in rephrased versions. Engagement, input, and output features included reminder notifications, connections to therapists, and free writing features. A total of 6 apps offered psychoeducational information and references. Privacy policies were available for 11 of the 14 apps, with a median Flesch-Kincaid reading grade level of 12.3. One app claimed to be compliant with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act standards and 2 apps claimed to be compliant with General Data Protection Regulation. Of the apps that could be accessed in full (n=10), all appeared to fulfill the claims stated in their description. Only 1 app referenced a relevant peer-reviewed study. All the apps provided a warning for use, highlighting that the mental health assessment result should not be interpreted as a diagnosis or as a substitute for medical care. Only 3 apps allowed users to export or email their mental health test results. CONCLUSIONS: These results indicate that there are opportunities to improve perinatal mental health assessment apps. To this end, we recommend focusing on the development and validation of more comprehensive assessment tools, ensuring data protection and safety features are adequate for the intended app use, and improving data sharing features between users and health care professionals for timely support. JMIR Publications 2022-01-17 /pmc/articles/PMC8804959/ /pubmed/35037894 http://dx.doi.org/10.2196/30724 Text en ©Benedetta Spadaro, Nayra A Martin-Key, Erin Funnell, Sabine Bahn. Originally published in JMIR mHealth and uHealth (https://mhealth.jmir.org), 17.01.2022. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work, first published in JMIR mHealth and uHealth, is properly cited. The complete bibliographic information, a link to the original publication on https://mhealth.jmir.org/, as well as this copyright and license information must be included.
spellingShingle Original Paper
Spadaro, Benedetta
Martin-Key, Nayra A
Funnell, Erin
Bahn, Sabine
mHealth Solutions for Perinatal Mental Health: Scoping Review and Appraisal Following the mHealth Index and Navigation Database Framework
title mHealth Solutions for Perinatal Mental Health: Scoping Review and Appraisal Following the mHealth Index and Navigation Database Framework
title_full mHealth Solutions for Perinatal Mental Health: Scoping Review and Appraisal Following the mHealth Index and Navigation Database Framework
title_fullStr mHealth Solutions for Perinatal Mental Health: Scoping Review and Appraisal Following the mHealth Index and Navigation Database Framework
title_full_unstemmed mHealth Solutions for Perinatal Mental Health: Scoping Review and Appraisal Following the mHealth Index and Navigation Database Framework
title_short mHealth Solutions for Perinatal Mental Health: Scoping Review and Appraisal Following the mHealth Index and Navigation Database Framework
title_sort mhealth solutions for perinatal mental health: scoping review and appraisal following the mhealth index and navigation database framework
topic Original Paper
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8804959/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/35037894
http://dx.doi.org/10.2196/30724
work_keys_str_mv AT spadarobenedetta mhealthsolutionsforperinatalmentalhealthscopingreviewandappraisalfollowingthemhealthindexandnavigationdatabaseframework
AT martinkeynayraa mhealthsolutionsforperinatalmentalhealthscopingreviewandappraisalfollowingthemhealthindexandnavigationdatabaseframework
AT funnellerin mhealthsolutionsforperinatalmentalhealthscopingreviewandappraisalfollowingthemhealthindexandnavigationdatabaseframework
AT bahnsabine mhealthsolutionsforperinatalmentalhealthscopingreviewandappraisalfollowingthemhealthindexandnavigationdatabaseframework