Quality evaluation of stress, anxiety and depression apps for COVID-19

Background: COVID-19 has caused increased stress, anxiety and depression with increased barriers to treatment. Mobile apps offer a potential solution, but there is no information on the quality of such apps recommended for COVID-19. This study aims to evaluate the quality of stress, anxiety and depr...

Descripción completa

Guardado en:

Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales:	Lauren Su En Li, Li Lian Wong, Kevin Yi-Lwern Yap
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	Elsevier 2021
Materias:	Quality evaluation Mobile apps Stress Anxiety Depression COVID-19 Mental healing RZ400-408
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/763d5c79ff464137926d7c729e05985e
Etiquetas:	Agregar Etiqueta Sin Etiquetas, Sea el primero en etiquetar este registro!

id	oai:doaj.org-article:763d5c79ff464137926d7c729e05985e
record_format	dspace
spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:763d5c79ff464137926d7c729e05985e2021-11-04T04:43:31ZQuality evaluation of stress, anxiety and depression apps for COVID-192666-915310.1016/j.jadr.2021.100255https://doaj.org/article/763d5c79ff464137926d7c729e05985e2021-12-01T00:00:00Zhttp://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666915321001815https://doaj.org/toc/2666-9153Background: COVID-19 has caused increased stress, anxiety and depression with increased barriers to treatment. Mobile apps offer a potential solution, but there is no information on the quality of such apps recommended for COVID-19. This study aims to evaluate the quality of stress, anxiety and depression apps recommended for COVID-19. Methods: A search was conducted to identify relevant apps on the iOS and Android platforms. 44 apps were evaluated using the Mobile App Rating Scale (MARS), and the American Psychiatric Association's app evaluation model for data privacy and security. Results: Overall quality scores of iOS and Android apps were 3.69 ± 0.43 and 3.66 ± 0.47. Thirty percent had good/excellent overall scores. In general, the iOS and Android versions of the apps scored best for functionality (4.21 ± 0.48, 4.12 ± 0.53), followed by aesthetics (3.84 ± 0.50, 3.78 ± 0.56), information (3.39 ± 0.54, 3.40 ± 0.60), and engagement (3.31 ± 0.81, 3.34 ± 0.84). Over half (59%) shared personal information with third parties and 14% were compliant with data protection standards. Limitations: Only free apps available in Singapore were evaluated. Our results are time sensitive due to addition, removal, and update of apps in the app stores, thus our results should be extrapolated with caution to apps from other countries and paid apps. Conclusion: Apps that addressed all three conditions had the highest overall quality scores. The top ranked apps (Sanvello, Woebot, Happify, Youper, Bloom) were of good quality, but majority were of acceptable quality and had room for improvement. App developers are encouraged to use our findings to improve and develop better quality apps.Lauren Su En LiLi Lian WongKevin Yi-Lwern YapElsevierarticleQuality evaluationMobile appsStressAnxietyDepressionCOVID-19Mental healingRZ400-408ENJournal of Affective Disorders Reports, Vol 6, Iss , Pp 100255- (2021)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	Quality evaluation Mobile apps Stress Anxiety Depression COVID-19 Mental healing RZ400-408
spellingShingle	Quality evaluation Mobile apps Stress Anxiety Depression COVID-19 Mental healing RZ400-408 Lauren Su En Li Li Lian Wong Kevin Yi-Lwern Yap Quality evaluation of stress, anxiety and depression apps for COVID-19
description	Background: COVID-19 has caused increased stress, anxiety and depression with increased barriers to treatment. Mobile apps offer a potential solution, but there is no information on the quality of such apps recommended for COVID-19. This study aims to evaluate the quality of stress, anxiety and depression apps recommended for COVID-19. Methods: A search was conducted to identify relevant apps on the iOS and Android platforms. 44 apps were evaluated using the Mobile App Rating Scale (MARS), and the American Psychiatric Association's app evaluation model for data privacy and security. Results: Overall quality scores of iOS and Android apps were 3.69 ± 0.43 and 3.66 ± 0.47. Thirty percent had good/excellent overall scores. In general, the iOS and Android versions of the apps scored best for functionality (4.21 ± 0.48, 4.12 ± 0.53), followed by aesthetics (3.84 ± 0.50, 3.78 ± 0.56), information (3.39 ± 0.54, 3.40 ± 0.60), and engagement (3.31 ± 0.81, 3.34 ± 0.84). Over half (59%) shared personal information with third parties and 14% were compliant with data protection standards. Limitations: Only free apps available in Singapore were evaluated. Our results are time sensitive due to addition, removal, and update of apps in the app stores, thus our results should be extrapolated with caution to apps from other countries and paid apps. Conclusion: Apps that addressed all three conditions had the highest overall quality scores. The top ranked apps (Sanvello, Woebot, Happify, Youper, Bloom) were of good quality, but majority were of acceptable quality and had room for improvement. App developers are encouraged to use our findings to improve and develop better quality apps.
format	article
author	Lauren Su En Li Li Lian Wong Kevin Yi-Lwern Yap
author_facet	Lauren Su En Li Li Lian Wong Kevin Yi-Lwern Yap
author_sort	Lauren Su En Li
title	Quality evaluation of stress, anxiety and depression apps for COVID-19
title_short	Quality evaluation of stress, anxiety and depression apps for COVID-19
title_full	Quality evaluation of stress, anxiety and depression apps for COVID-19
title_fullStr	Quality evaluation of stress, anxiety and depression apps for COVID-19
title_full_unstemmed	Quality evaluation of stress, anxiety and depression apps for COVID-19
title_sort	quality evaluation of stress, anxiety and depression apps for covid-19
publisher	Elsevier
publishDate	2021
url	https://doaj.org/article/763d5c79ff464137926d7c729e05985e
work_keys_str_mv	AT laurensuenli qualityevaluationofstressanxietyanddepressionappsforcovid19 AT lilianwong qualityevaluationofstressanxietyanddepressionappsforcovid19 AT kevinyilwernyap qualityevaluationofstressanxietyanddepressionappsforcovid19
_version_	1718445219290021888

Quality evaluation of stress, anxiety and depression apps for COVID-19

Ejemplares similares