BACKGROUND
The widespread development of digital health technologies and mHealth apps has the potential to overcome some of the challenges of managing Parkinson's disease in practice. The majority of research in this area typically focuses on assessing the quantitative measures rather than the acceptance and perspectives of the patients.
OBJECTIVE
A systematic review was conducted to identify studies exploring the barriers and facilitators of using mHealth apps to support the management of Parkinson's disease in practice and identify the factors that might affect the acceptance of these interventions from patients' and healthcare professionals' perspectives.
METHODS
We searched MEDLINE, EMBASE, Scopus, and Google Scholar databases up to August 2022. We used search terms related to ‘mHealth intervention,’ ‘Parkinson’s disease, and ‘acceptability.’ Study participants were either people with Parkinson's (PwP) or healthcare professionals (HCPs) for PwP. Interventions had to be delivered by a smartphone or tablet iPad and being implemented for use in clinical practice. Data was analysed thematically and organized by common themes observed across studies.
RESULTS
The initial literature search yielded 1,469 articles, of which 9 met the inclusion criteria included in this review. All interventions aimed to assess and track motor symptoms of Parkinson’s, 3 out 9 of the interventions had features to assess non-motor symptoms, and 4 out of 9 had a feature to monitor medication intake and adherence. Overall, mHealth interventions appeared to be acceptable to both PwP and HCPs, as they recognized their potential benefits in improving healthcare services with a few highlighted concerns. Several factors were identified that might be associated with mHealth acceptance and usability, including technological, individual, and organizational factors.
CONCLUSIONS
The review reinforces the reflect on end user needs (both PwP and HCPs) and requirements throughout the design process of the mHealth app for Parkinson's. The early involvement of end-users might lead to a more accurate understanding of needs and requirements when designing a mHealth intervention for PD, and ultimately influence the future acceptability and uptake of the mHealth intervention.