Review of Popularity and Quality Standards of Opioid-Related Smartphone Apps

Vilardaga, Roger; Fisher, Tykira; Palenski, Paige; Kumaresan, Viggy; Mannelli, Paolo; Sweitzer, Maggie M.; McClernon, F. Joseph; Engelhard, Matthew M.; Sabo, Patricia L.; Garrison, Kathleen A.

doi:10.1007/s40429-020-00344-6

Cited by 16 publications

(22 citation statements)

References 23 publications

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“…• general health such as vital sign measurements, 12,13 and stress reduction 14 • mental health 15,16 and substance use 3,[17][18][19][20] • chronic conditions 21 such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) 22 or diabetes [23][24][25] • pain conditions 26 • cardiovascular disease 27 • headache 28…”

Section: What Health Conditions Can Apps Manage or Monitor?mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…38 There is preliminary evidence from an overview of metaanalyses that mobile apps may help with some mental health conditions such as depression and anxiety, 48 and they can provide an avenue for patients to access services that may be inaccessible to them ordinarily, due to financial or geographical reasons. 38 For example, there is a plethora of apps available to support people looking to reduce consumption of harmful substances including opioids, 19 alcohol, cannabis, and tobacco. Many individuals with substance abuse issues do not seek traditional or formal treatment options.…”

Section: Mental Health and Substance Use Disordersmentioning

confidence: 99%

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An Overview of Smartphone Apps

Wells¹,

Spry²

2022

cjht

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Health-based mobile applications (mHealth) are downloadable applications on a smartphone or similar device for use in health care, either by the person directly or by a health care provider. This Horizon Scan summarizes the available information and provides an overview of health apps on smartphones that are not connected to specialized medical equipment, describing examples of emerging apps in different clinical areas, who they might benefit, and their operational issues. There are over 350,000 mobile applications available for download in app stores, used for a variety of disease areas. These areas include chronic disease, stress, mental health, fitness, sleeping problems, general medication adherence and tracking, and vital sign measurements. The scan identified that health apps often fall into 1 of 4 categories: informational applications, diagnostic applications, disease management applications, and fitness tracking applications. Numerous apps were identified that are available for use by people in Canada. Health apps offer the potential to provide convenience, flexibility, accessibility, and personalized health information. However, the majority of health apps that require evidence of benefit for users have not been assessed in appropriately designed studies that examine their clinical efficacy, or safety. The apps that have been tested in some research studies may have numerous shortcomings in areas such as app design, user engagement, user satisfaction, and retention. This scan describes some operational considerations for apps that relate to their lack of evidence-base, concerns about biases in app design, and the need for equity focused app development. It was noted in the literature that many apps do not provide appropriate privacy and confidentiality for consumers, which may put people at risk of data breaches or inappropriate use of personal data.

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Section: What Health Conditions Can Apps Manage or Monitor?mentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Mental Health and Substance Use Disordersmentioning

confidence: 99%

An Overview of Smartphone Apps

Wells¹,

Spry²

2022

cjht

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show abstract

“…More studies are needed to explore whether and how patients are able to understand online information about opioids and related treatments, including identifying reputable sites versus sites with misinformation. A recent review of opioid-related mobile applications (apps) found that although the apps were in line with strategies to address the opioid crisis through prevention, treatment, and overdose, few met quality standards (Vilardaga et al, 2020). As the numbers of opioid-related apps increase, digital literacy, including the ability to understand the purpose of the app and how to use it properly, will contribute to how well users will benefit from the app.…”

Section: Potential Effects Of Digital Inequity On Treatment Uptake For Moudmentioning

confidence: 99%

Potential Effects of Digital Inequality on Treatment Seeking for Opioid Use Disorder

Garett¹,

Young

2021

Int J Ment Health Addiction

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Despite the availability of effective treatment, medications for opioid use disorder are underutilized due to a variety of practical, political, and psychological reasons. Digital inequalities, such as limited access to technology, skills to leverage the technology for desirable outcomes, and social resources, may be contributing to negative health outcomes. In addition, broader health literacy plays an integral part in the capacity of individuals to appraise opioid medication-related online information. This paper explores the role of digital inequalities in the uptake of treatment for opioid use disorder. Given the shift toward telemedicine and online counseling for substance use treatment as a consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic, more research into the digital inequalities faced by those who misuse opioids may provide insight into ways of engaging and encouraging this population to utilize treatment. Keywords Digital inequality • Health literacy • Medications for opioid use disorder • Opioid use disorderOpioid misuse and abuse continue to plague the USA, affecting thousands of lives. Approximately 21-29% of US patients who have been prescribed opioids for pain management misuse them, and between 8 and 12% develop opioid use disorder (OUD) (National Institute on Drug Abuse, 2021). Deaths attributable to opioid overdose between 1999 and 2019 approximated 500,000 (Centers for Disease Control & Prevention, 2021), with fatalities from synthetic opioid increasing 55% between (Mann, 2021. Globally, approximately 58 million people used opioids in 2018, and to date, opioids contributed to more than 70% of the 0.5 million deaths related to drug use (WHO. World Health Organization, 2020). Effective medication treatments exist to treat OUD (MOUD); however, uptake for treatment is low due to factors including logistical, attitudinal, geographical, regulatory, and financial (National Academies of Sciences et al., 2019). In addition, stigma

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“…The current proliferation and ‘free ride’ of digital therapeutics ‐‐ as noted in Khadjesari, et al .’s article ‐‐ has not been matched by either a comprehensive treatment development process (from a scientific perspective) [7], or by safe and responsible digital health practices (from a privacy and public health perspective) [12]. Regulation and accreditation of digital devices will not ensure that these devices are accepted and implemented in the target population, address health inequities, or facilitate that they are promptly tested.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%