College of Medical Informatics, Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, China.
Department of Quality Management, Daping Hospital, Army Medical University (The Third Military Medical University), Chongqing, China.
JMIR Mhealth Uhealth. 2024 Sep 13;12:e53805. doi: 10.2196/53805.
In China, the current situation of myopia among children and adolescents is very serious. Prevention and control of myopia are inhibited by the lack of medical resources and the low awareness about eye care. Nevertheless, mobile apps provide an effective means to solve these problems. Since the health app market in China is still immature, it has become particularly important to conduct a study to assess the quality of eye-care apps to facilitate the development of better eye-care service strategies.
This study aimed to evaluate the quality, functionality, medical evidence, and professional background of eye-care apps targeting children and adolescents in the Chinese app stores.
A systematic search on iOS and Android app stores was performed to identify eye-care apps for children and adolescents. The general characteristics, development context, and functional features of the apps were described. Quality assessment of the apps was completed by 2 independent researchers using the Mobile App Rating Scale.
This study included 29 apps, of which 17 (59%) were developed by commercial organizations and 12 (41%) had a design with relevant scientific basis. The main built-in functions of these apps include self-testing (18/29, 62%), eye exercises (16/29, 55%), and eye-care education (16/29, 55%). The mean overall quality of eye-care apps was 3.49 (SD 0.33), with a score ranging from 2.89 to 4.39. The overall Mobile App Rating Scale score exhibited a significant positive correlation with the subscale scores (r=0.81-0.91; P<.001). In addition, although most apps provided basic eye-care features, there are some deficiencies. For example, only a few apps were developed with the participation of medical organizations or professional ophthalmologists, and most of the apps were updated infrequently, failing to provide the latest eye-care information and technology in a timely manner.
In general, the quality of eye-care apps for children and teenagers in Chinese app stores is good. These apps fulfill users' needs for eye-care services to a certain extent, but they still suffer from insufficient medical background, low user engagement, and untimely updates. In order to further improve the effectiveness of eye-care apps, cooperation with medical institutions and professional ophthalmologists should be strengthened to enhance the scientific and authoritative nature of the apps. At the same time, interactive features and regular updates should be added to enhance user participation and the continuity of the apps. This study provides a reference for future development or improvement of eye-care apps, which can help promote myopia prevention and control.
在中国，儿童和青少年近视的现状非常严重。由于医疗资源匮乏和眼保健意识低下，近视的防控受到了抑制。然而，移动应用程序为解决这些问题提供了一种有效的手段。由于中国的健康类应用程序市场仍不成熟，因此评估眼保健应用程序的质量以制定更好的眼保健服务策略就显得尤为重要。
本研究旨在评估中国应用商店中针对儿童和青少年的眼保健应用程序的质量、功能、医学证据和专业背景。
对 iOS 和 Android 应用商店进行了系统搜索，以确定针对儿童和青少年的眼保健应用程序。描述了应用程序的一般特征、开发背景和功能特点。使用移动应用程序评级量表由 2 名独立研究人员对应用程序进行质量评估。
本研究共纳入 29 个应用程序，其中 17 个（59%）由商业组织开发，12 个（41%）具有相关科学依据的设计。这些应用程序的主要内置功能包括自测（18/29，62%）、眼保健操（16/29，55%）和眼保健教育（16/29，55%）。眼保健应用程序的总体质量平均得分为 3.49（SD 0.33），得分范围为 2.89 至 4.39。总体移动应用程序评级量表评分与子量表评分呈显著正相关（r=0.81-0.91；P<.001）。此外，尽管大多数应用程序都提供了基本的眼保健功能，但仍存在一些不足之处。例如，只有少数应用程序是由医疗机构或专业眼科医生参与开发的，而且大多数应用程序更新不频繁，无法及时提供最新的眼保健信息和技术。
总的来说，中国应用商店中针对儿童和青少年的眼保健应用程序质量较好。这些应用程序在一定程度上满足了用户对眼保健服务的需求，但仍存在医疗背景不足、用户参与度低、更新不及时等问题。为了进一步提高眼保健应用程序的效果，应加强与医疗机构和专业眼科医生的合作，提高应用程序的科学性和权威性。同时，应增加互动功能和定期更新，以提高用户参与度和应用程序的连续性。本研究为未来眼保健应用程序的开发或改进提供了参考，有助于促进近视防控。
