JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

Though mHealth apps for both health consumers and healthcare providers are increasingly common, implementations are frequently unsuccessful when there is a misalignment between the needs of the user and the app's functionality. Nurses are well-positioned to help address this challenge. However, it is unclear if and how nurses are involved in the development of mHealth apps.

Objective:

To better understand nurses’ role in app development, this scoping review aims to determine the extent of the evidence of the role of nurses in app development and describe the apps nurses are involved in developing.

Methods:

We conducted a systematic scoping review by searching 14 databases to identify publications on the role of nurses in mHealth app development. Two independent researchers performed all screening and data extraction. Data were synthesized and grouped by the Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC) phase.

Results:

Our initial searches identified 4113 items, of which 1853 were duplicates. Of the 2260 items screened, 253 were considered in full text. Of these, 74 publications were included in our analysis. Nurses were involved in mHealth app development across all stages of the SDLC, but most frequently participated in design and prototyping, requirements gathering, and testing. Nurses most often took the role of evaluator, followed by subject matter expert (SME). Nurses participated infrequently in software development or planning, and participation as patient advocates, research experts, or nurse informaticists was rare.

Conclusions:

Although nurses were represented throughout the development process, we found that the level of nursing involvement was concentrated in specific phases and roles. A broader representation of nurses across all phases of app development and in a wider range of roles has potential benefits for patients, providers and care systems.