Quality of Smartphone Apps Related to Panic Disorder

Abstract

Quality of smartphone apps related to panic: smartphone apps have a growing role in health care. This study assessed the quality of English-language apps for panic disorder (PD) and compared paid and free apps. Keywords related to PD were entered into the Google Play Store search engine. Apps were assessed using the following quality indicators: accountability, interactivity, self-help score (the potential of smartphone apps to help users in daily life), and evidence-based content quality. The Brief DISCERN score and the criteria of the “Health on the Net” label were also used as content quality indicators as well as the number of downloads. Of 247 apps identified, 52 met all inclusion criteria. The content quality and self-help scores of these PD apps were poor. None of the assessed indicators were associated with payment status or number of downloads. Multiple linear regressions showed that the Brief DISCERN score significantly predicted the content quality and self-help scores. Poor content quality and self-help scores of PD smartphone apps highlight the gap between their technological potential and the overall quality of available products.

Quality of Smartphone Apps Related to Alcohol Use Disorder

“…In accordance with the results of other studies [44], we did not expect, however, to find differences in the main quality indicators.…”

“…We evaluated them by using tools from previous studies and modified instruments from quality evaluation studies of websites [51,52,53,54,55,56,57], as well as instruments represented in various studies on the quality of smartphone apps [22,23,37,38,44]. …”

“…Concerns about the quality of such apps are, however, rising concomitantly [16,19,20]. Some studies have assessed the quality of the apps available for weight management, sleep, cancer and diabetes, as well as those related to substance use and mental disorders, such as smoking cessation, bipolar disorder and panic disorder [21,22,23,24,25,26,27,28,29,30,31,32,33,34,35,36,37,38,39,40,41,42,43,44,45]. Despite the promises offered by the apps, the studies concluded that, on an average, those available from different stores were of poor quality.…”

Internet Sites and Apps Available to Students Seeking Counselling, and What School Counsellors Should Know About Them

“…The most obvious examples of interdependence are those apps that can detect and store health status information remotely, such as physical activity or psychological states (Edwards-Stewart, 2012;Morris et al, 2010). These types of apps are designed to provide support for a variety of metal health issues such as severe mental illness (Depp et al, 2010), maintaining a healthy lifestyle, weight loss, and treatment for panic disorder (Singer et al, 2015). Although there are findings that suggest that web-based weight management programs are successful, at this point in time there is no empirical evidence for counselling apps improving educational or psychological outcomes for students.…”

Sexual Desire, Mood, Attachment Style, Impulsivity, and Self-Esteem as Predictive Factors for Addictive Cybersex (Preprint)

“…The Internet is widely used in everyday life, including for health-related queries [1][2][3] and sexual health-related purposes [4]. Cybersex is a common online behavior that refers to sexually oriented online activities that aim to provide erotic fulfillment or sexual gratification [5].…”