BACKGROUND
Patients with epilepsy (PWE) are motivated to manage and cope with their disorder by themselves, that is, self-management (SM). Mobile health applications (apps) have multiple features that show a huge potential to improve self-management of individuals with chronic disorders such as epilepsy.
OBJECTIVE
This study aims to review all available free apps related to the self-management of PWE and to determine the self-management domains included in these apps
METHODS
Systematic reviews were performed for all apps by searching in iOS and Android app databases using the keywords “epilepsy” and “seizure.”
RESULTS
We identified 22 epilepsy SM apps:6 were found in iOS, 7 in Android, and 9 in both.Of the 11 domains of self-management, seizure tracking and seizure response features were available in most Apps(N=22 and N=19respectively), followed by treatment management(N=17) and medication adherence(N=15).Three apps (Epilepsy Journal, Epilepsy Tool Kit and EpiDiary) were installed more than 10,000 times, with features focused specifically on a few domains (including treatment management, medication adherence, health-care communication, and seizure tracking). Two Apps had >6 SM domains (Young epilepsy and E-Epilepsy Inclusion) but both with lower installation rates (5000+ and 100+ respectively).
CONCLUSIONS
There were mobile health applications to improve self-management in epilepsy in both iOS and Android platform, but the installation rate of most apps was low. The self-management features in various Apps were different and common features included seizure tracking and seizure response.