Sander Lasse B, Lemor Marie-Luise, Van der Sloot Racine J A, De Jaegere Eva, Büscher Rebekka, Messner Eva-Maria, Baumeister Harald, Terhorst Yannik
Department of Rehabilitation Psychology and Psychotherapy, Institute of Psychology, Albert-Ludwigs-University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany.
Department of Head and Skin, Flemish Centre of Expertise in Suicide Prevention, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium.
Front Digit Health. 2021 Jul 26;3:689692. doi: 10.3389/fdgth.2021.689692. eCollection 2021.
People with suicidal ideation and non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) behavior face numerous barriers to help-seeking, which worsened during the COVID-19 pandemic. Mobile health applications (MHA) are discussed as one solution to improve healthcare. However, the commercial app markets are growing unregulated and rapidly, leading to an inscrutable market. This study evaluates the quality, features, functions, and prevention strategies of MHA for people with suicidal ideation and NSSI. An automatic search engine identified MHA for suicidal behavior and NSSI in the European commercial app stores. MHA quality and general characteristics were assessed using the Mobile Application Rating Scale (MARS). MHA of high quality (top 25%) were examined in detail and checked for consistency with established suicide prevention strategies. Of 10,274 identified apps, 179 MHA met the predefined inclusion criteria. Average MHA quality was moderate (M = 3.56, SD = 0.40. Most MHA provided emergency contact, but lacked security features. High-quality MHA were broadly consistent with the best-practice guidelines. The search revealed apps containing potentially harmful and triggering content, and no randomized controlled trial of any included MHA was found. Despite a large heterogeneity in the quality of MHA, high-quality MHA for suicidal behavior and NSSI are available in European commercial app stores. However, a lack of a scientific evidence base poses potential threats to users.
有自杀意念和非自杀性自伤（NSSI）行为的人在寻求帮助时面临诸多障碍，在新冠疫情期间这些障碍进一步恶化。移动健康应用程序（MHA）被视为改善医疗保健的一种解决方案。然而，商业应用程序市场正处于无监管且快速增长的状态，导致市场情况难以捉摸。本研究评估了针对有自杀意念和NSSI行为者的MHA的质量、特性、功能及预防策略。一个自动搜索引擎在欧洲商业应用程序商店中识别出了针对自杀行为和NSSI的MHA。使用移动应用程序评分量表（MARS）评估MHA的质量和一般特征。对高质量（排名前25%）的MHA进行了详细检查，并核查其与既定自杀预防策略的一致性。在识别出的10274个应用程序中，179个MHA符合预定义的纳入标准。MHA的平均质量为中等（M = 3.56，标准差 = 0.40）。大多数MHA提供了紧急联系信息，但缺乏安全功能。高质量的MHA与最佳实践指南大致一致。搜索发现了包含潜在有害和触发内容的应用程序，且未找到任何纳入研究的MHA的随机对照试验。尽管MHA的质量存在很大异质性，但欧洲商业应用程序商店中有针对自杀行为和NSSI的高质量MHA。然而，缺乏科学证据基础对用户构成了潜在威胁。
