The Top Chinese Mobile Health Apps: A Systematic Investigation

Abstract

BackgroundChina’s mHealth market is on track to become a global leader by industry size. The Chinese mobile app market and health care system have peculiarities that distinguish them from other app markets. To date, Chinese mHealth apps have not been systematically investigated.ObjectiveThe objective of this study was to provide an overview of Chinese mHealth apps as of December 2015.MethodsWe identified and investigated the most downloaded apps from the iOS and Android platforms. For each app, we analyzed and recorded its main service offered, mHealth initiative, disease and specialty focus, app cost, target user, Web app availability, and emphasis on information security. Standard descriptive statistics were used.ResultsA total of 234 apps met the inclusion criteria and were investigated. The apps targeting nonhealth care professionals focused on providing telemedicine and appointment-making services. The apps targeting health care professionals focused on education and peer reviewed articles. The most common disease-specific apps focused primarily on diabetes, hypertension, and hepatitis management. Most apps were free and available on both iOS and Android platforms.ConclusionsThe primary mHealth initiatives targeted by the apps reflect Chinese patients’ demand for access to medical care. Disease-specific apps are also representative of disease prevalence in China. Government press releases suggest that new policies on the horizon may shift the industry.

Chinese Mobile Health APPs for Hypertension Management: A Systematic Evaluation of Usefulness

“…Among the iOS APPs, the top three rankings by usefulness are “tu-huan-jian-kang-nin-jia” (74%), “jian-kang998-wen-yi-sheng” (68%), and “zhang-shang-yi-sheng-zhang” and “jin-dian-xue-ya-guan-li” (both 65%), while the lowest are “gao-xue-ya-zhi-nan-gao-xue,” “xue-ya-diao-yang-ke,” and “gao-xue-ya-zhi-duo-shao-gao” (all 6%). In all, the iOS APPs have slightly higher useful degrees than the Android APPs (39% versus 32%), which is consistent with a previous study [14]. We think the differences may be attributed to the strict content auditing of Apple stores.…”

“…On the one hand, the majority of APPs do not release, on the user protocol or the supportive websites, any declaration about user data security or privacy protection, which is a hidden risk when individuals or institutions, either informed or not informed, utilize user privacy information to acquire economic benefits. On the other hand, the Chinese State Council released 11 official documents between 2013 and 2015 [14] that indirectly affected the information security and privacy protection of mHealth APPs, but the Chinese government has neither provided clear definition about the attributive right of medical treatment data nor issued any professional or direct supervision and management act like the American Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act [34] or 45 CFR 170.314 [35]. At the technical level, some APPs (e.g., U1, U3, and U4) support certain security mechanisms, but the proportion is very low, and the nature of mobile device subjects' data storage put them at an extremely high risk of breach.…”

“…However, the current studies were mostly focused on the characteristics and coverage of functionalities from the perspective of designers rather than users [14–16]. Few studies have been performed to evaluate the functionality of APPs in the context of user-meaningful operations.…”

Health literacy in selected populations: Individuals, families, and communities from the international and cultural perspective

“…Mobile apps have been developed to support patients in the various aspects of their involvement in promoting, maintaining and improving health, such as disease prevention, medication adherence, illness management, lifestyle modification and in navigating the health care system including making appointments in health services [4,9,18,19,40,51]. The most common disease-specific apps aim to provide education on diabetes, hypertension and hepatitis [19].…”

“…The most common disease-specific apps aim to provide education on diabetes, hypertension and hepatitis [19]. Most apps are provided on both iOS and Android platform free of charge [19].…”