Rigorous Evaluation of Mhealth Apps - What Are the Obstacles?

The market for health-related mobile applications is exploding. Aiming for weight loss and smoking cessation while also addressing mental health issues such as anxiety, app developers hope to engage users in healthy behaviour changes. Many of these apps claim to be based on science, but there is a dearth of evidence to support that claim. Numerous frameworks, techniques, and evaluation standards have been developed by researchers, and consumer-based evaluations like app store star ratings are at best deceptive. mhealth app development services that have the potential to improve human health cannot be distinguished from those that resemble 21st-century snake oil without thorough study.

At least in part, mobile health apps' lack of comprehensive review can be attributed to the fact that they are governed by regulations. Many mobile health apps are unregulated, in contrast to other therapies that have a larger risk of side effects, such as pharmaceutical medications or medical devices. However, as long as no specific claims are made about the tools' potential to diagnose or treat disease, mobile health applications are generally not considered medical devices and do not require to demonstrate safety or efficacy in clinical trials. Many mhealth app development companies claim to have been evaluated and use scientific jargon to discuss their efficacy in reality. Yet, there is no proof to manifest their claims.

Because health systems, scientists, and physicians aren't often spearheading initiatives to digitise behaviour change in healthcare, there aren't as many thorough evaluations of mobile health apps as there should be. Although efficacy data are few, incentives seem to favour comprehensive evaluation when health systems and clinical researchers are driving the endeavour.

The developers of mhealth app development services may not be willing to invest the time and resources necessary to thoroughly evaluate the app's outcomes if it can survive or thrive without them. This is especially true if the developers are more concerned with meeting key performance indicators like the number of users and time spent on the app. In spite of this, new advancements in research design, funding arrangements, and the reimbursement landscape have made the business case for thorough mobile app evaluation even more compelling.

Issues that Obstruct Rigorous Evaluation

The cultural mismatch between mhealth app development companies and health intervention evaluators is a major issue preventing rigorous evaluation of mobile health apps. Health intervention evaluators are more firmly rooted in the academic research culture, where the evidence takes several years to generate and release to the public. It's possible that by the time it takes to create and execute a rigorous evaluation—typically at least five years—an examined mobile health app will have undergone significant changes or possibly become obsolete.

1. mhealth app development service providers may benefit from uncertainty about whether their product works, which prevents a thorough examination. Instead of risking completing a study that could demonstrate no effect if developers can reach their goals without it, why bother? Ambiguity may be preferable to a negative outcome, especially for startups with a thin product pipeline.

1. The difficulty in developing a trial that can withstand scientific scrutiny is another roadblock to a thorough review. The inherent conflicts of interest in industry research demand the involvement of an impartial assessment partner who will commit to publishing the results, favourable or bad, in a trusted, peer-reviewed venue. Engaging a third-party evaluation partner can be difficult for mhealth app development companies who are used to doing their own research.

1. Cost is a major deterrent for many mobile app developers from performing a thorough examination. Because of their limited financial means, new businesses often can't afford to hire an evaluation partner. For even the most resourceful developers, it may be difficult to commit their time and energy to a thorough examination.

What is your opinion about the rigorous evaluation of mhealth apps? Ask the professional if you still have any confusion.

Sandip Chakraborty is one of the popular bloggers who love to explore areas of different application development and its technologies. Here, in this article, he has focused on the relevance of news app development services.