Systematic Review and Scientific Rating of Commercial Apps Available in India for Diabetes Prevention

Abstract

ABSTRACTBACKGROUNDScientific evidence for digital health applications (apps) which claim to help in the prevention and management of Type 2 diabetes (T2D) is limited.OBJECTIVESWe aimed to evaluate the quality of currently available health apps for prevention of T2D amongst Asian Indians.METHODSUsing the keywords, ‘diabetes prevention’, ‘healthy lifestyle’ and ‘fitness’, a total of 1486 apps available in India via Google Play were assessed for eligibility by two independent reviewers. After initial screening using specific inclusion and exclusion criteria, 50 apps underwent a pre-specified rating based on user reviews, number of downloads and app size. Sixteen apps that scored ≥ 9 were shortlisted for further review using the Mobile App Rating Scale (MARS). MARS contains 2 main categories: Category I (Application Quality) and Category II (Application Subjective Quality). The mean MARS scores were used to identify the top ranked apps.RESULTSThe mean score for Category I of MARS rating was highest for ‘Google Fit: Health and Activity Tracking’ (4.55/5). This was followed by ‘Healthifyme - Diet Plan, Health and Weight Loss’ (4.45/5). For Category II of MARS, ‘Diabetes M’, ‘Google Fit: Health and Activity Tracking’ and Calorie Counter- My fitness pal’, ‘Healthifyme - Diet plan, Health and Weight Loss’ all scored equally well. On comparing the advantages and disadvantages of each of these applications, ‘Google Fit: Health and Activity Tracking’ and ‘Healthifyme - Diet plan, Health and Weight Loss’ again ranked the best.CONCLUSIONSOur review identifies two commercially available apps ‘Google Fit: Health and Activity Tracking’ and ‘Healthifyme - Diet plan, Health and Weight Loss’ as being user friendly and good quality. Although encouraging, further research is needed to evaluate the efficacy of these apps for prevention of diabetes.