Abahussin Asma Am, Alnakhibi Ahmed Aa, Alfulaij Bandar Ma
Department of Biomedical Technology, College of Applied Medical Sciences, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Digit Health. 2025 Mar 13;11:20552076251326234. doi: 10.1177/20552076251326234. eCollection 2025 Jan-Dec.
The study aimed to systematically review mHealth apps available for Arabic speakers regarding quality and functional classification.
A systematic search was conducted on the Apple App Store. Eligible apps were downloaded and tested thoroughly and rated independently by two reviewers using the Mobile App Rating Scale (MARS). The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) evidence standards framework for evaluating Digital Health Technologies (DHTs) was used to perform the functional classification for the included apps.
Sixty-one health-related apps met the eligibility criteria and were included in the study. The average overall MARS score across all apps was 4.03 ( = 0.38), indicating a generally high quality of the apps. The functions of the reviewed apps fit into 7 out of 10 NICE classifications. We found that 50% of the applied functions were equally split between 'communicate' and 'inform', 39% fell within the 'self-manage' and 'preventive behaviour change' classes, and only 11% of the apps were classified as having 'treat', 'diagnose' and 'simple monitoring' functions. Furthermore, our review indicated that 42% of the apps focused on supporting general health, and 28% covered diet and physical activity.
This work summarises the current state of available free-of-charge mHealth apps for Arabic speakers on the Apple App Store by highlighting their quality and coverage of functionalities and areas of health. In general, most of the apps were considered to be of decent quality but with partially limited functions and coverage of health conditions. Developers of future Arabic health apps should focus on engagement and aesthetic features, employing more advanced functions and supporting a wide range of health interventions.
本研究旨在系统评价面向阿拉伯语使用者的移动健康应用程序的质量和功能分类。
在苹果应用商店进行了系统搜索。符合条件的应用程序被下载并进行了全面测试，由两名评审员使用移动应用评分量表（MARS）独立评分。采用英国国家卫生与临床优化研究所（NICE）评估数字健康技术（DHT）的证据标准框架对纳入的应用程序进行功能分类。
61款与健康相关的应用程序符合纳入标准，被纳入研究。所有应用程序的平均MARS总评分为4.03（标准差=0.38），表明这些应用程序总体质量较高。所审查应用程序的功能符合NICE的10种分类中的7种。我们发现，50%的应用功能在“沟通”和“信息提供”之间平均分配，39%属于“自我管理”和“预防行为改变”类别，只有11%的应用程序被归类为具有“治疗”、“诊断”和“简单监测”功能。此外，我们的审查表明，42%的应用程序专注于支持一般健康，28%涵盖饮食和体育活动。
本研究总结了苹果应用商店中面向阿拉伯语使用者的免费移动健康应用程序的现状，突出了它们的质量、功能覆盖范围以及健康领域。总体而言，大多数应用程序被认为质量尚可，但功能和健康状况覆盖范围部分有限。未来阿拉伯语健康应用程序的开发者应注重参与度和美学特性，采用更先进的功能并支持广泛的健康干预措施。
