JMIR Mhealth Uhealth. 2023 Sep 13;11:e46881. doi: 10.2196/46881.
Mobile apps offer a potential mechanism for people with persistent pain to monitor pain levels conveniently within their own environment and for clinicians to remotely monitor their patients' pain. However, the quality of currently available apps and the usefulness of included features from a clinical perspective are not known.
The aim of this study was to examine the content and quality of currently available smartphone apps designed for monitoring the intensity or presence of musculoskeletal or neuropathic pain.
A systematic search was performed in the Australian Apple and Google Play stores. Apps were included if they were designed to monitor the intensity or presence of musculoskeletal or neuropathic pain and were available in the English language within the Australian app stores. Data pertaining to the intended use of the app and clinical population were extracted by using a custom-designed data extraction form, and app quality was assessed by using the 23-item Mobile App Rating Scale.
Of the 2190 apps screened, 49 met the inclusion criteria. Apps were primarily designed for adult users (36/49, 73%) with nonspecific musculoskeletal or neuropathic pain conditions, arthritis, and joint pain. All apps monitored pain intensity, with almost half (23/49, 47%) also specifying pain location. Overall, the mean quality scores from the Mobile App Rating Scale ranged from 1.5 to 4.4 (out of 5.0). Between 20% (10/49) and 22% (11/49) of apps involved clinicians, consumers, or both in their development, and 20% (10/49) had published literature related to the development or use of the app in clinical scenarios. Although 71% (35/49) had data sharing features, only 5 apps enabled client-clinician communication through the app.
The overall quality of mobile apps that are currently available for monitoring pain intensity is acceptable. Presently, mobile apps for remote pain monitoring lack functionality for clinicians to view data between consults. Both users and clinicians should be aware of the limitations of these apps and make informed choices in using or recommending apps that best suit the clinical need.
移动应用程序为患有持续性疼痛的患者提供了一种在自己环境中方便地监测疼痛水平的潜在机制，也为临床医生远程监测患者的疼痛提供了可能。然而，目前可用的应用程序的质量以及从临床角度来看包含功能的有用性尚不清楚。
本研究旨在检查目前可用于监测肌肉骨骼或神经性疼痛强度或存在情况的智能手机应用程序的内容和质量。
在澳大利亚的苹果和谷歌应用商店中进行了系统搜索。如果应用程序旨在监测肌肉骨骼或神经性疼痛的强度或存在情况，并且在澳大利亚应用商店中提供英文版本，则将其纳入研究。使用定制的数据提取表格提取与应用程序预期用途和临床人群相关的数据，并使用 23 项移动应用程序评级量表评估应用程序质量。
在筛选出的 2190 个应用程序中，有 49 个符合纳入标准。这些应用程序主要针对成年用户（36/49，73%），用于治疗非特异性肌肉骨骼或神经性疼痛、关节炎和关节疼痛。所有应用程序都监测疼痛强度，其中近一半（23/49，47%）还指定了疼痛位置。总体而言，移动应用程序评级量表的平均质量评分为 1.5 至 4.4（满分 5.0）。20%（10/49）至 22%（11/49）的应用程序涉及临床医生、消费者或两者在其开发过程中的参与，20%（10/49）的应用程序有与临床场景下应用程序的开发或使用相关的已发表文献。尽管 71%（35/49）的应用程序具有数据共享功能，但只有 5 个应用程序能够通过应用程序实现客户端-临床医生之间的沟通。
目前可用于监测疼痛强度的移动应用程序的整体质量是可以接受的。目前，用于远程疼痛监测的移动应用程序缺乏临床医生在就诊之间查看数据的功能。用户和临床医生都应该意识到这些应用程序的局限性，并在使用或推荐最适合临床需求的应用程序时做出明智的选择。
