Background: Psychological trauma is prevalent in developed countries, with prevalence rates and treatment needs exceeding health system capacity. As telemedicine and out-of-patient care are promoted, there has been an expansion of digital apps to compliment therapeutic stages in psychological trauma. To date there are no reviews that have compared these apps and their clinical utility. This study aims to identify the availability of trauma- and stressor-related mhealth apps, assess their functionality, and review their therapeutic abilities.
Methodology: The authors conducted a systematic search using an iPhone 13 Pro in the Australian IOS App Store to extract trauma- and stressor-related apps that resulted from the search criteria. A cross-adaptation of the (MARS) and the (CAEM) were used as a framework to produce the and . App content descriptors were analysed based on their general characteristics, usability, therapeutic focus, clinical utility, data integration. Following an applicability in concordance with psychological trauma-informed delivery.
Results: A total of 234 apps resulting from the search strategy were screened, with 81 apps that met the inclusion criteria. The majority of apps were marketed to 4+ to 17+ years of age, categorised as 'health and fitness', with the highest target markets observed for adolescents, children, parents, clinicians, and clients. A total of 43 apps (53.1%) contained a trauma-informed specified section, and 37 (45.7%) incorporated a section useful to support trauma-related symptoms. A significant number of apps there was an absence of therapeutic utility (in 32 apps (39.5%)). Most apps were supporting post-traumatic stress disorder-informed, cognitive behavioural therapy and eye movement desensitisation and reprocessing. Provision of psychoeducation, courses, guided sessions, trainings, self-reflection/journaling, symptom management and progress tracking were highly present.
Conclusions: Trauma-informed mobile apps are available in the App Store, expanding in its target market reach and usability, with an increase of creative psychotherapies being introduced alongside conventional modalities. However, based on the app descriptors, the scarcity of evidenced-based testimonials and therapeutic applicability remains questionable for clinical validity. Although mhealth tools are marketed as trauma-related, current available apps employ a multifunctional approach to general psychological symptomatology, through to associated comorbid conditions and emphasizes on passive activity. For higher uptake on user engagement, clinical application and validity, trauma-apps require curated specification to fulfil its role as complimentary psychological treatment.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.7717/peerj.15366 | DOI Listing |
Sensors (Basel)
January 2025
Department of Computer Science, Al-Baha University, Al-Baha 65779, Saudi Arabia.
Android malware detection remains a critical issue for mobile security. Cybercriminals target Android since it is the most popular smartphone operating system (OS). Malware detection, analysis, and classification have become diverse research areas.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNutrients
December 2024
School of Health Sciences, University of Ioannina, St. Niarchou Av, 45500 Ioannina, Greece.
Unlabelled: Introduction-Aim: Adopting a lifestyle that incorporates regular physical activity confers substantial benefits to both physical and mental health and is recommended for prediabetic individuals. The aim of this study is to investigate the impact of activity tracking apps on increasing physical activity and its effect on glycemic control in people with prediabetes.
Materials And Methods: This pilot study included 37 participants, 18 in the prediabetic group and 19 in the normoglycemic group matched for age and gender (mean age 53 years, 40% males).
BMC Med Inform Decis Mak
January 2025
AZTI, Food Research, Basque Research and Technology Alliance, Derio, Spain.
Background: The popularization of mobile health (mHealth) apps for public health or medical care purposes has transformed human life substantially, improving lifestyle behaviors and chronic condition management. The objective of this study is to evaluate the effect of gamification features in a mHealth app that includes the most common categories of behavior change techniques for the self-report of lifestyle data. The data reported by the user can be manual (i.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Med Internet Res
January 2025
Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA, United States.
Health care is undergoing a "revolution," where patients are becoming consumers and armed with apps, consumer review scores, and, in some countries, high out-of-pocket costs. Although economic analyses and health technology assessment (HTA) have come a long way in their evaluation of the clinical, economic, ethical, legal, and societal perspectives that may be impacted by new technologies and procedures, these approaches do not reflect underlying patient preferences that may be important in the assessment of "value" in the current value-based health care transition. The major challenges that come with the transformation to a value-based health care system lead to questions such as "How are economic analyses, often the basis for policy and reimbursement decisions, going to switch from a societal to an individual perspective?" and "How do we then assess (economic) value, considering individual preference heterogeneity, as well as varying heuristics and decision rules?" These challenges, related to including the individual perspective in cost-effectiveness analysis (CEA), have been widely debated.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJMIR Res Protoc
January 2025
College of Medicine and Public Health, Flinders University, Bedford Park, Australia.
Background: There is limited evidence of high-quality, accessible, culturally safe, and effective digital health interventions for Indigenous mothers and babies. Like any other intervention, the feasibility and efficacy of digital health interventions depend on how well they are co-designed with Indigenous communities and their adaptability to intracultural diversity.
Objective: This study aims to adapt an existing co-designed mobile health (mHealth) intervention app with health professionals and Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander mothers living in South Australia.
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