A Survey of Mobile Apps for the Care Management of Patients with Dementia

Abstract

Objective: Dementia is a progressive neurocognitive disorder that currently affects approximately 50 million people globally and causes a heavy burden for their families and societies. This study analyzed mobile apps for dementia care in different languages and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: We searched PubMed, Cochrane Collaboration Central Register of Con-trolled Clinical Trials, Cochrane Systematic Reviews, Google Play Store, Apple App Store, and Huawei App Store for mobile applications for dementia care. The Mobile Application Rating Scale (MARS) was used to assess the quality of applications. Results: We included 99 apps for dementia care. No significant difference in MARS scores was noted between the two language apps (Overall MARS: English: 3.576 ± 0.580, Chinese: 3.569 ± 0.746, p = 0.962). In the subscale analysis, English apps had higher scores of perceived impact than Chinese apps but these were not significant (2.654 ± 1.372 vs. 2.000 ± 1.057, p = 0.061). (2) Applications during the COVID-19 pandemic had higher MARS scores than those before the COVID-19 pandemic but these were not significant (during the COVID-19 pandemic: 3.722 ± 0.416; before: 3.699 ± 0.615, p = 0.299). In the sub-scale analysis, apps during the COVID-19 pandemic had higher scores of engagement than apps before the COVID-19 pandemic but these were not significant (3.117 ± 0.594 vs. 2.698 ± 0.716, p = 0.068). Conclusions: Our results revealed that there is a minor but nonsignificant difference between different languages and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Further cooperation among dementia professionals, technology experts, and caregivers is warranted to provide evidence-based and user-friendly information to meet the needs of users.

Barriers to using eHealth/mHealth platforms and perceived beneficial eHealth/mHealth platform features among informal carers of persons living with dementia: a qualitative study

“…Concurrently, there was an increase in online support groups for family carers to resolve the challenge of social isolation. Furthermore, there have been reports of increased utilisation of mHealth applications during the COVID-19 pandemic, as enforced restrictions have necessitated innovative approaches to healthcare delivery [ 66 , 67 ]. Therefore, researchers need to continue exploring new and more effective ways to provide carers with the help and support they need in the context of mHealth and the likely increase in familiarity with digital technology due to changes ushered by the COVID-19 pandemic.…”

Digital Therapeutics for Improving Effectiveness of Pharmaceutical Drugs and Biological Products: Preclinical and Clinical Studies Supporting Development of Drug + Digital Combination Therapies for Chronic Diseases

“…The WhatMatters app provides personalized support for dementia patients through caregivers [41]. Recommended mobile apps for people with AD and dementia were reviewed elsewhere [42][43][44].…”

Attributes, Quality, and Downloads of Dementia-Related Mobile Apps for Patients With Dementia and Their Caregivers: App Review and Evaluation Study

“…There is significant heterogeneity in the quality of dementia-related mHealth apps [ 12 ], and most studies assessing app quality have used criteria that focused on general characteristics that could be assessed without downloading or using the app itself [ 13 , 14 ]. Therefore, there is a need for a human-centered, multidimensional measure that includes usability components and relatively more domains to identify high-quality mHealth apps [ 15 ].…”