Mindfulness-Based Mobile Applications: Literature Review and Analysis of Current Features

Abstract

BackgroundInterest in mindfulness has increased exponentially, particularly in the fields of psychology and medicine. The trait or state of mindfulness is significantly related to several indicators of psychological health, and mindfulness-based therapies are effective at preventing and treating many chronic diseases. Interest in mobile applications for health promotion and disease self-management is also growing. Despite the explosion of interest, research on both the design and potential uses of mindfulness-based mobile applications (MBMAs) is scarce.ObjectiveOur main objective was to study the features and functionalities of current MBMAs and compare them to current evidence-based literature in the health and clinical setting.MethodsWe searched online vendor markets, scientific journal databases, and grey literature related to MBMAs. We included mobile applications that featured a mindfulness-based component related to training or daily practice of mindfulness techniques. We excluded opinion-based articles from the literature.ResultsThe literature search resulted in 11 eligible matches, two of which completely met our selection criteria–a pilot study designed to evaluate the feasibility of a MBMA to train the practice of “walking meditation,” and an exploratory study of an application consisting of mood reporting scales and mindfulness-based mobile therapies. The online market search eventually analyzed 50 available MBMAs. Of these, 8% (4/50) did not work, thus we only gathered information about language, downloads, or prices. The most common operating system was Android. Of the analyzed apps, 30% (15/50) have both a free and paid version. MBMAs were devoted to daily meditation practice (27/46, 59%), mindfulness training (6/46, 13%), assessments or tests (5/46, 11%), attention focus (4/46, 9%), and mixed objectives (4/46, 9%). We found 108 different resources, of which the most used were reminders, alarms, or bells (21/108, 19.4%), statistics tools (17/108, 15.7%), audio tracks (15/108, 13.9%), and educational texts (11/108, 10.2%). Daily, weekly, monthly statistics, or reports were provided by 37% (17/46) of the apps. 28% (13/46) of them permitted access to a social network. No information about sensors was available. The analyzed applications seemed not to use any external sensor. English was the only language of 78% (39/50) of the apps, and only 8% (4/50) provided information in Spanish. 20% (9/46) of the apps have interfaces that are difficult to use. No specific apps exist for professionals or, at least, for both profiles (users and professionals). We did not find any evaluations of health outcomes resulting from the use of MBMAs.ConclusionsWhile a wide selection of MBMAs seem to be available to interested people, this study still shows an almost complete lack of evidence supporting the usefulness of those applications. We found no randomized clinical trials evaluating the impact of these applications on mindfulness training or health indicators, and the potential for mobile mindfulness applications remai...

Exploring the effectiveness of a mindfulness training app for managing stress in a university student population : a pilot study

“…In addition, interest in mobile applications for health promotion and disease selfmanagement is growing (Plaza et al, 2013). In particular, mobile phones are gaining particular importance in health care services (Free et al, 2010;Kumar et al, 2013), as there appears to be a large increase in the use of mobile phones for a variety of therapeutic applications (Preziosa, Grassi, Gaggioli, & Riva, 2009).…”

“…Mindfulness (MF) is defined as an intentional nonjudgmental awareness of present-moment experiences such as thoughts, feelings, and body sensations (e.g., Baer, 2003;Kabat-Zinn, 2003). The trait or state of mindfulness is significantly related to several indicators of psychological health, and mindfulness-based therapies have been found to be effective at preventing and treating many chronic diseases (Plaza et al, 2013). Over the past two decades, there is strong evidence for the use of mindfulness-based interventions for the treatment of depression, anxiety, and stress-related physical symptoms (Edenfield & Saeed, 2012).…”

“…To overcome these limits, brief mindfulness meditation protocols have been developed and their efficacy supported for nonclinical populations who are at risk for stress-related health problems (Klatt, Buckworth, & Malarkey, 2009;Olivo et al, 2009;Tang et al, 2009). Nevertheless, only a few studies have integrated them in self-help interventions supported by new technologies such as mobile apps (Carissoli, Villani, & Riva, 2015), and despite the growing interest, research on both the design and potential uses of mindfulness-based mobile applications is scarce (Plaza et al, 2013). Therefore, one of the primary aims of this study was to test the effectiveness of a brief self-help protocol using a mindfulness training application delivered via smartphone in reducing stress in a university student population.…”

“…Although MF practice may have its roots in ancient Eastern philosophy, interest in the West is growing, particularly in the fields of psychology and medicine (Plaza et al, 2013). MF has been found to be related to several indicators of psychological health, including anxiety (Hofmann, Sawyer, Witt, & Oh, 2010;Roemer, Orsillo, & Salters-Pedneault, 2008), depression (Hofmann et al, 2010;Teasdale et al, 2000), substance abuse (Bowen, 2012;Bowen et al, 2006), eating disorders (Tapper et al, 2009), and chronic pain (Grossman, Tiefenthaler-Gilmer, Raysz, & Kesper, 2007).…”

“…MF has been found to be related to several indicators of psychological health, including anxiety (Hofmann, Sawyer, Witt, & Oh, 2010;Roemer, Orsillo, & Salters-Pedneault, 2008), depression (Hofmann et al, 2010;Teasdale et al, 2000), substance abuse (Bowen, 2012;Bowen et al, 2006), eating disorders (Tapper et al, 2009), and chronic pain (Grossman, Tiefenthaler-Gilmer, Raysz, & Kesper, 2007). Furthermore, MF meditation has been found to have a positive influence on numerous areas of physical health, including improved immune function (Carlson, Speca, Faris, & Patel, 2007;Davidson et al, 2003), and reduced blood pressure and cortisol levels (Carlson et al, 2007); and thus may be effective at preventing and treating many chronic diseases (Plaza et al, 2013). There is strong evidence supporting the use of MF interventions for the treatment of depression, anxiety, and stress-related physical symptoms (Edenfield & Saeed, 2012), and results from meta-analyses suggest that MF can be effective in reducing psychological distress, including symptoms of anxiety and depression, in both nonclinical populations (Chiesa & Serretti, 2009) and clinical populations including eating disorders, heart disease, chronic pain, and diabetes, among others (Bohlmeijer, Prenger, Taal, & Cuijpers, 2010).…”