Alwhaibi Reem M, Alrwaily Halla H, AlJaloud Fadiah A, AlOfaisan Sarah A, AlSutami Norah F, AlEssa Haneen M, Alessa Faisal M, Khan Ruqaiyah, Alahmadi Tahani J
Department of Rehabilitation Sciences, College of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Department of Mathematics, King Fahd University of Petroleum, Dhahran, Saudi Arabia.
PLoS One. 2025 Jun 12;20(6):e0325652. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0325652. eCollection 2025.
Primary dysmenorrhea (PD), common in women below 25 years, occurs as pain in the absence of any identifiable pelvic pathology. Menstrual tracking applications (MTAs) may help women manage their PD symptoms. No systematic assessment has been performed on MTA quality with respect to physical therapy management exercise.
This study evaluated the quality of MTAs available in Saudi Arabia for mobile users in both the App Store and Google Play Store and assessed the quality and completeness of exercise regimens provided in these apps using the FITT principle as a guideline for managing PD symptoms.
In this cross-sectional study, apps were collected from the App Store and Google Play Store using two strategies for each store independently: Scraper and SimilarWeb. The app quality was evaluated using the Mobile Application Rating Scale (MARS), and exercise content was evaluated based on the recommended Frequency, Intensity, Time, and Type (FITT) principles.
Final evaluation included 16 apps, of which 87.5% required subscription. The mean app quality score ranged from 2.54 (worst-rated app) to 4.45 (best-rated app) with a mean score of 3.54 ± 0.58. In addition, only three apps provided all the FITT components in the exercise content.
This study assessed the quality of exercise provided within these applications as interventions for managing PD symptoms. This evaluation contributes to the understanding of mobile health technologies for PD management in the region, and highlights areas for improvement in app development and content quality to better serve individuals with PD.
原发性痛经（PD）常见于25岁以下女性，表现为无任何可识别盆腔病变情况下的疼痛。月经跟踪应用程序（MTA）可能有助于女性管理其PD症状。尚未针对物理治疗管理运动对MTA质量进行系统评估。
本研究评估了沙特阿拉伯在应用商店和谷歌应用商店中可供移动用户使用的MTA质量，并以FITT原则作为管理PD症状的指南，评估这些应用程序中提供的运动方案的质量和完整性。
在这项横断面研究中，分别使用两种策略从应用商店和谷歌应用商店独立收集应用程序：爬虫工具和SimilarWeb。使用移动应用程序评分量表（MARS）评估应用程序质量，并根据推荐的频率、强度、时间和类型（FITT）原则评估运动内容。
最终评估包括16个应用程序，其中87.5%需要订阅。应用程序质量平均得分范围为2.54（评分最差的应用程序）至4.45（评分最佳的应用程序），平均得分为3.54±0.58。此外，只有三个应用程序在运动内容中提供了所有FITT要素。
本研究评估了这些应用程序中提供的作为管理PD症状干预措施的运动质量。该评估有助于了解该地区用于PD管理的移动健康技术，并突出了应用程序开发和内容质量方面需要改进的领域，以便更好地为PD患者服务。
