The Potential of Self-Management mHealth for Pediatric Cystic Fibrosis: Mixed-Methods Study for Health Care and App Assessment

• Published in: JMIR mHealth and uHealth 2019-04, Vol.7 (4), p.e13362-e13362
• Main Authors: Martinez-Millana, Antonio, Zettl, Annabel, Floch, Jacqueline, Calvo-Lerma, Joaquim, Sevillano, Jose Luis, Ribes-Koninckx, Carmen, Traver, Vicente
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Cellular telephones; Cystic fibrosis; Cystic Fibrosis - psychology; Cystic Fibrosis - therapy; Design; Disease management; Enzymes; Europe; Health services; Hospitals; Humans; Medical personnel; Medical screening; Mixed methods research; Mobile Applications - standards; Mobile Applications - statistics & numerical data; Original Paper; Patients; Pediatrics; Portable computers; Professionals; Qualitative research; Self-Management - methods; Self-Management - trends; Telemedicine; Telemedicine - methods; Telemedicine - standards
• ISSN: 2291-5222; 2291-5222
• DOI: 10.2196/13362

Remote care services and patient empowerment have boosted mobile health (mHealth). A study of user needs related to mHealth for pediatric cystic fibrosis (PCF) identified the set of preferred features mobile apps should support; however, the potential use of PCF apps and their suitability to fit into PCF clinical management remains unexplored. We examine whether PCF holds potential for the implementation of mHealth care. The study is based on a literature review and qualitative analysis of content and was conducted in two parts: (1) we reviewed scientific and gray literature to explore how European countries manage PCF and conducted a qualitative study of 6 PCF units and (2) we performed a systematic review of apps available in the myhealthapps.net repository searching for cystic fibrosis (CF) management and nutrition apps, which we analyzed for characteristics, business models, number of downloads, and usability. European CF routine care guidelines are acknowledged in most European countries, and treatments are fully covered in almost all countries. The majority of teams in CF units are interdisciplinary. With respect to the systematic review of apps, we reviewed 12 apps for CF management and 9 for general nutrition management in the myhealthapps.net directory. All analyzed apps provided functionalities for recording aspects related to the disease and nutrition such as medication, meals, measurements, reminders, and educational material. None of the apps reviewed in this study supported pancreatic enzyme replacement therapy. CF apps proved to be less appealing and usable than nutrition apps (2.66 [SD 1.15] vs 4.01 [SD 0.90]; P