JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Mobile health (mHealth) technologies have provided an innovative platform for the deployment of healthcare diagnostics, symptom monitoring, and prevention and intervention programs. Such health-related smartphone applications are universally accepted by patients and providers with over 50 million users worldwide. Despite the rise in popularity and accessibility among consumers, the evidence base in support of health-related apps has fallen well behind the rapid pace of industry development. To bridge this evidence gap, researchers are beginning to consider how to best apply evidence-based research standards to the systematic synthesis of the mobile health market. In this paper, we argue for the adoption of a “hybrid model” that combines a traditional systematic review with a systematic search of mobile app download platforms. This approach, which we have successfully executed in a recent review, maximizes the benefits of traditional and novel approaches to address the essential question of whether popular consumer mHealth apps work.