Methodological Quality of Manuscripts Reporting on the Usability of Mobile Applications for Pain Assessment and Management: A Systematic Review
Background: There has been increasing use of mobile mHealth applications, including pain assessment and pain self-management apps. The usability of mHealth applications has vital importance as it affects the quality of apps. Thus, usability assessment with methodological rigor is essential to minimi...
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doaj-5194a629714e435ebd348f1ddc889d0b2020-11-25T02:18:25ZengMDPI AGInternational Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health1660-46012020-01-0117378510.3390/ijerph17030785ijerph17030785Methodological Quality of Manuscripts Reporting on the Usability of Mobile Applications for Pain Assessment and Management: A Systematic ReviewAna F. Almeida0Nelson P. Rocha1Anabela G. Silva2Institute of Electronics and Informatics Engineering of Aveiro (IEETA), Campus Universitário de Santiago, 3810-193 Aveiro, PortugalInstitute of Electronics and Informatics Engineering of Aveiro (IEETA), Campus Universitário de Santiago, 3810-193 Aveiro, PortugalSchool of Health Sciences, Universidade de Aveiro - Edifício 30, Agras do Crasto - Campus Universitário de Santiago, 3810-193 Aveiro, PortugalBackground: There has been increasing use of mobile mHealth applications, including pain assessment and pain self-management apps. The usability of mHealth applications has vital importance as it affects the quality of apps. Thus, usability assessment with methodological rigor is essential to minimize errors and undesirable consequences, as well as to increase user acceptance. Objective: this study aimed to synthesize and evaluate existing studies on the assessment of the usability of pain-related apps using a newly developed scale. Methods: an electronic search was conducted in several databases, combining relevant keywords. Then titles and abstracts were screened against inclusion and exclusion criteria. The eligible studies were retrieved and independently screened for inclusion by two authors. Disagreements were resolved by discussion until consensus was reached. Results: a total of 31 articles were eligible for inclusion. Quality assessment revealed that most manuscripts did not assess usability using valid instruments or triangulation of methods of usability assessment. Most manuscripts also failed to assess the three domains of usability (effectiveness, efficiency and satisfaction). Conclusions: future studies should consider existing guidelines on usability assessment design, development and assessment of pain-related apps.https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/17/3/785painappmobile appmobile applicationapplicationusability |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Ana F. Almeida Nelson P. Rocha Anabela G. Silva |
spellingShingle |
Ana F. Almeida Nelson P. Rocha Anabela G. Silva Methodological Quality of Manuscripts Reporting on the Usability of Mobile Applications for Pain Assessment and Management: A Systematic Review International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health pain app mobile app mobile application application usability |
author_facet |
Ana F. Almeida Nelson P. Rocha Anabela G. Silva |
author_sort |
Ana F. Almeida |
title |
Methodological Quality of Manuscripts Reporting on the Usability of Mobile Applications for Pain Assessment and Management: A Systematic Review |
title_short |
Methodological Quality of Manuscripts Reporting on the Usability of Mobile Applications for Pain Assessment and Management: A Systematic Review |
title_full |
Methodological Quality of Manuscripts Reporting on the Usability of Mobile Applications for Pain Assessment and Management: A Systematic Review |
title_fullStr |
Methodological Quality of Manuscripts Reporting on the Usability of Mobile Applications for Pain Assessment and Management: A Systematic Review |
title_full_unstemmed |
Methodological Quality of Manuscripts Reporting on the Usability of Mobile Applications for Pain Assessment and Management: A Systematic Review |
title_sort |
methodological quality of manuscripts reporting on the usability of mobile applications for pain assessment and management: a systematic review |
publisher |
MDPI AG |
series |
International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health |
issn |
1660-4601 |
publishDate |
2020-01-01 |
description |
Background: There has been increasing use of mobile mHealth applications, including pain assessment and pain self-management apps. The usability of mHealth applications has vital importance as it affects the quality of apps. Thus, usability assessment with methodological rigor is essential to minimize errors and undesirable consequences, as well as to increase user acceptance. Objective: this study aimed to synthesize and evaluate existing studies on the assessment of the usability of pain-related apps using a newly developed scale. Methods: an electronic search was conducted in several databases, combining relevant keywords. Then titles and abstracts were screened against inclusion and exclusion criteria. The eligible studies were retrieved and independently screened for inclusion by two authors. Disagreements were resolved by discussion until consensus was reached. Results: a total of 31 articles were eligible for inclusion. Quality assessment revealed that most manuscripts did not assess usability using valid instruments or triangulation of methods of usability assessment. Most manuscripts also failed to assess the three domains of usability (effectiveness, efficiency and satisfaction). Conclusions: future studies should consider existing guidelines on usability assessment design, development and assessment of pain-related apps. |
topic |
pain app mobile app mobile application application usability |
url |
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/17/3/785 |
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AT anafalmeida methodologicalqualityofmanuscriptsreportingontheusabilityofmobileapplicationsforpainassessmentandmanagementasystematicreview AT nelsonprocha methodologicalqualityofmanuscriptsreportingontheusabilityofmobileapplicationsforpainassessmentandmanagementasystematicreview AT anabelagsilva methodologicalqualityofmanuscriptsreportingontheusabilityofmobileapplicationsforpainassessmentandmanagementasystematicreview |
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