Faculty of Social Sciences, City University of Applied Sciences Bremen, Bremen, Germany.
JMIR Mhealth Uhealth. 2023 Sep 13;11:e47502. doi: 10.2196/47502.
Nonspecific low back pain (NSLBP) carries significant socioeconomic relevance and leads to substantial difficulties for those who are affected by it. The effectiveness of app-based treatments has been confirmed, and clinicians are recommended to use such interventions. As 88.8% of the German population uses smartphones, apps could support therapy. The available apps in mobile app stores are poorly regulated, and their quality can vary. Overviews of the availability and quality of mobile apps for Australia, Great Britain, and Spain have been compiled, but this has not yet been done for Germany.
We aimed to provide an overview of the availability and content-related quality of apps for the treatment of NSLBP in the German language.
A systematic search for apps on iOS and Android was conducted on July 6, 2022, in the Apple App Store and Google Play Store. The inclusion and exclusion criteria were defined before the search. Apps in the German language that were available in both stores were eligible. To check for evidence, the apps found were assessed using checklists based on the German national guideline for NSLBP and the British equivalent of the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence. The quality of the apps was measured using the Mobile Application Rating Scale. To control potential inaccuracies, a second reviewer resurveyed the outcomes for 30% (3/8) of the apps and checked the inclusion and exclusion criteria for these apps. The outcomes, measured using the assessment tools, are presented in tables with descriptive statistics. Furthermore, the characteristics of the included apps were summarized.
In total, 8 apps were included for assessment. Features provided with different frequencies were exercise tracking of prefabricated or adaptable workout programs, educational aspects, artificial intelligence-based therapy or workout programs, and motion detection. All apps met some recommendations by the German national guideline and used forms of exercises as recommended by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guideline. The mean value of items rated as "Yes" was 5.75 (SD 2.71) out of 16. The best-rated app received an answer of "Yes" for 11 items. The mean Mobile Application Rating Scale quality score was 3.61 (SD 0.55). The highest mean score was obtained in "Section B-Functionality" (mean 3.81, SD 0.54).
Available apps in the German language meet guideline recommendations and are mostly of acceptable or good quality. Their use as a therapy supplement could help promote the implementation of home-based exercise protocols. A new assessment tool to obtain ratings on apps for the treatment of NSLBP, combining aspects of quality and evidence-based best practices, could be useful.
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非特异性下腰痛（NSLBP）具有显著的社会经济学意义，给患者带来了巨大的困难。基于应用程序的治疗方法已被证实有效，临床医生被建议使用此类干预措施。由于 88.8%的德国人口使用智能手机，因此应用程序可以支持治疗。移动应用商店中的应用程序监管不力，质量参差不齐。已经对澳大利亚、英国和西班牙的移动应用程序的可用性和质量进行了综述，但尚未对德国进行综述。
本研究旨在提供德国语言治疗 NSLBP 的应用程序的可用性和内容相关质量概述。
于 2022 年 7 月 6 日在 iOS 和 Android 的苹果应用商店和谷歌播放商店中对应用程序进行了系统性搜索。在搜索之前定义了纳入和排除标准。在两个商店中都可用的德语应用程序符合入选条件。为了检查证据，使用基于德国非特异性下腰痛国家指南和英国国家卫生与保健卓越研究所（National Institute for Health and Care Excellence）等效物的检查表对找到的应用程序进行了评估。使用移动应用程序评级量表（Mobile Application Rating Scale）测量应用程序的质量。为了控制潜在的不准确，第二位评审员对 30%（3/8）的应用程序重新进行了评估，并检查了这些应用程序的纳入和排除标准。使用评估工具测量的结果以表格形式呈现，其中包括描述性统计数据。此外，还总结了纳入应用程序的特征。
共有 8 个应用程序被纳入评估。不同频率提供的功能包括预制或可适应锻炼计划的运动追踪、教育方面、基于人工智能的治疗或锻炼计划以及运动检测。所有应用程序都符合德国国家指南的一些建议，并使用了国家卫生与保健卓越研究所指南推荐的锻炼形式。在 16 个项目中被评为“是”的平均值为 5.75（SD 2.71）。评分最高的应用程序获得了 11 个“是”的答案。移动应用程序评级量表的平均质量评分为 3.61（SD 0.55）。“B 节-功能”的平均得分最高（平均 3.81，SD 0.54）。
德国语言的可用应用程序符合指南建议，且质量大多为可接受或良好。它们作为辅助治疗手段的使用可以帮助促进基于家庭的锻炼方案的实施。一种新的评估工具可以结合质量和基于最佳实践的证据，对治疗 NSLBP 的应用程序进行评分。
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