Use of Mobile Apps for Self-care in People With Parkinson Disease: Systematic Review

Abstract

Background Self-care is essential for people with Parkinson disease (PD) to minimize their disability and adapt to alterations in physical abilities due to this progressive neurodegenerative disorder. With rapid developments in mobile technology, many health-related mobile apps for PD have been developed and used. However, research on mobile app–based self-care in PD is insufficient. Objective This study aimed to explore the features and characteristics of mobile apps for self-care in people with PD. Methods This study was performed sequentially according to the PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) statement. PubMed, Embase, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature, Cochrane Library, Web of Science, and PsycINFO were searched in consultation with a librarian on June 8, 2021. We used keywords including ”Parkinson disease” and ”mobile.” Results A total of 17 studies were selected based on the inclusion criteria, including 3 randomized controlled trials and 14 observational studies or quasi-experimental studies. The use of mobile apps for self-care in people with PD focused on symptom monitoring, especially motor symptoms. Motor symptoms were objectively measured mainly through the sensors of smartphones or wearable devices and task performance. Nonmotor symptoms were monitored through task performance or self-reported questionnaires in mobile apps. Most existing studies have focused on clinical symptom assessment in people with PD, and there is a lack of studies focusing on symptom management. Conclusions Mobile apps for people with PD have been developed and used, but strategies for self-management are insufficient. We recommend the development of mobile apps focused on self-care that can enhance symptom management and health promotion practices. Studies should also evaluate the effects of mobile apps on symptom improvement and quality of life in people with PD. Trial Registration PROSPERO International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews CRD42021267374; https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/display_record.php?ID=CRD42021267374.

The Effectiveness of Self-management Education Based on the Mobile Application on the Quality of Life of People with Parkinson’s Disease

“…Lee et al assessed the use of mobile apps for self-care in people with Parkinson's disease in a review study and recommended the development of mobile apps focused on self-care that can enhance symptom management and health promotion practices, plus evaluate the effects of mobile apps on symptom improvement and quality of life in People with Parkinson's disease (28). These findings are in line with the present study.…”

Mobile Health Self-management Support for Spinal Cord Injury: Systematic Literature Review

“…The findings support the notion that the adoption of mHealth SMS tools for SCI is a growing area of interest [ 10 ]. The findings are similar to those of reviews of a comparable period identifying 23 heart failure– [ 60 ]; 21 cardiovascular disease– [ 61 ]; 23 HIV-, AIDS-, or HIV and AIDS– [ 62 ]; and 17 Parkinson disease–related [ 63 ] mHealth SMS tools that were introduced from 2012 onward. The geographical distribution of the tools in the included publications is also similar to that in these reviews, with the large majority of tools being introduced in North America and Europe except in the case of HIV or AIDS [ 62 ], where no tools introduced in Europe were reported.…”

“…Unlike comparable reviews [ 61 , 62 ], our review found a nearly equal operating system share between Android and iOS despite the former being the most used by a large margin [ 65 ]. Unlike comparable reviews [ 61 , 63 ] except for that by Mehraeen et al [ 62 ], widely used wearable devices (eg, smartwatches) were not identified in this review despite their demonstrated potential for health self-management. This likely results partially from the difficulty to accurately measure physical activity in persons with SCI using wearables [ 66 ].…”

A Mobile App for Comprehensive Symptom Management in People With Parkinson’s Disease

“…The need for technology to monitor and manage PD symptoms is increasing. 12,16 Comprehensive symptom management is critical for improving the quality of personalized care for people with PD. 16 Mobile apps for self-monitoring and managing PD symptoms are in high demand, and the app in this study is valuable.…”

“…7,11 People with PD are able to use apps well if they do not have problems with cognitive impairment or severe motor symptoms, and they prefer a simple and straightforward interface. 11,12 To date, most apps have addressed motor symptoms in people with PD. [13][14][15][16] A newly developed app assessed PD-specific activities and quantified PD severity.…”