Robbins Rebecca, Krebs Paul, Jagannathan Ram, Jean-Louis Girardin, Duncan Dustin T
Department of Population Health, NYU School of Medicine, New York, NY, United States.
Emory Global Diabetes Research Center, Hubert Department of Global Health, Emory Rollins College of Public Health, Atlanta, GA, United States.
JMIR Mhealth Uhealth. 2017 Dec 19;5(12):e197. doi: 10.2196/mhealth.7832.
Mobile apps hold promise for serving as a lifestyle intervention in public health to promote wellness and attenuate chronic conditions, yet little is known about how individuals with chronic illness use or perceive mobile apps.
The objective of this study was to explore behaviors and perceptions about mobile phone-based apps for health among individuals with chronic conditions.
Data were collected from a national cross-sectional survey of 1604 mobile phone users in the United States that assessed mHealth use, beliefs, and preferences. This study examined health app use, reason for download, and perceived efficacy by chronic condition.
Among participants, having between 1 and 5 apps was reported by 38.9% (314/807) of respondents without a condition and by 6.6% (24/364) of respondents with hypertension. Use of health apps was reported 2 times or more per day by 21.3% (172/807) of respondents without a condition, 2.7% (10/364) with hypertension, 13.1% (26/198) with obesity, 12.3% (20/163) with diabetes, 12.0% (32/267) with depression, and 16.6% (53/319) with high cholesterol. Results of the logistic regression did not indicate a significant difference in health app download between individuals with and without chronic conditions (P>.05). Compared with individuals with poor health, health app download was more likely among those with self-reported very good health (odds ratio [OR] 3.80, 95% CI 2.38-6.09, P<.001) and excellent health (OR 4.77, 95% CI 2.70-8.42, P<.001). Similarly, compared with individuals who report never or rarely engaging in physical activity, health app download was more likely among those who report exercise 1 day per week (OR 2.47, 95% CI 1.6-3.83, P<.001), 2 days per week (OR 4.77, 95% CI 3.27-6.94, P<.001), 3 to 4 days per week (OR 5.00, 95% CI 3.52-7.10, P<.001), and 5 to 7 days per week (OR 4.64, 95% CI 3.11-6.92, P<.001). All logistic regression results controlled for age, sex, and race or ethnicity.
Results from this study suggest that individuals with poor self-reported health and low rates of physical activity, arguably those who stand to benefit most from health apps, were least likely to report download and use these health tools.
移动应用有望成为公共卫生领域的一种生活方式干预手段，以促进健康并缓解慢性病，但对于慢性病患者如何使用或看待移动应用却知之甚少。
本研究的目的是探讨慢性病患者对基于手机的健康应用的行为和看法。
数据来自对美国1604名手机用户的全国性横断面调查，该调查评估了移动健康的使用情况、信念和偏好。本研究考察了健康应用的使用情况、下载原因以及按慢性病类型划分的感知疗效。
在参与者中，无疾病的受访者中有38.9%（314/807）报告拥有1至5个应用，患有高血压的受访者中有6.6%（24/364）报告拥有1至5个应用。无疾病的受访者中有21.3%（172/807）报告每天使用健康应用2次或更多次，患有高血压的受访者中有2.7%（10/364），患有肥胖症的受访者中有13.1%（26/198），患有糖尿病的受访者中有12.3%（20/163），患有抑郁症的受访者中有12.0%（32/267），患有高胆固醇的受访者中有16.6%（53/319）。逻辑回归结果表明，慢性病患者和非慢性病患者在健康应用下载方面没有显著差异（P>.05）。与健康状况较差的个体相比，自我报告健康状况非常好的个体更有可能下载健康应用（优势比[OR]3.80，95%置信区间2.38 - 6.09，P<.001），健康状况极佳的个体更有可能下载健康应用（OR 4.77，95%置信区间2.70 - 8.42，P<.001）。同样，与报告从不或很少进行体育活动的个体相比，报告每周锻炼1天的个体更有可能下载健康应用（OR 2.47，95%置信区间1.6 - 3.83，P<.001），每周锻炼2天的个体（OR 4.77，95%置信区间3.27 - 6.94，P<.001），每周锻炼3至4天的个体（OR 5.00，95%置信区间3.52 - 7.10，P<.001），以及每周锻炼5至7天的个体（OR 4.64，95%置信区间3.11 - 6.92，P<.001）。所有逻辑回归结果均对年龄、性别和种族或民族进行了控制。
本研究结果表明，自我报告健康状况较差且体育活动率较低的个体，按理说那些最有可能从健康应用中受益的人，报告下载和使用这些健康工具的可能性最小。
