@Article{info:doi/10.2196/23313,
author="Portenhauser, Alexandra A
and Terhorst, Yannik
and Schultchen, Dana
and Sander, Lasse B
and Denkinger, Michael D
and Stach, Michael
and Waldherr, Natalie
and Dallmeier, Dhayana
and Baumeister, Harald
and Messner, Eva-Maria",
title="Mobile Apps for Older Adults: Systematic Search and Evaluation Within Online Stores",
journal="JMIR Aging",
year="2021",
month="Feb",
day="19",
volume="4",
number="1",
pages="e23313",
keywords="mHealth; MARS; MARS-G; older adults; mobile apps; apps; aging",
abstract="Background: Through the increasingly aging population, the health care system is confronted with various challenges such as expanding health care costs. To manage these challenges, mobile apps may represent a cost-effective and low-threshold approach to support older adults. Objective: This systematic review aimed to evaluate the quality, characteristics, as well as privacy and security measures of mobile apps for older adults in the European commercial app stores. Methods: In the European Google Play and App Store, a web crawler systematically searched for mobile apps for older adults. The identified mobile apps were evaluated by two independent reviewers using the German version of the Mobile Application Rating Scale. A correlation between the user star rating and overall rating was calculated. An exploratory regression analysis was conducted to determine whether the obligation to pay fees predicted overall quality. Results: In total, 83 of 1217 identified mobile apps were included in the analysis. Generally, the mobile apps for older adults were of moderate quality (mean 3.22 [SD 0.68]). Four mobile apps (5{\%}) were evidence-based; 49{\%} (41/83) had no security measures. The user star rating correlated significantly positively with the overall rating (r=.30, P=.01). Obligation to pay fees could not predict overall quality. Conclusions: There is an extensive quality range within mobile apps for older adults, indicating deficits in terms of information quality, data protection, and security precautions, as well as a lack of evidence-based approaches. Central databases are needed to identify high-quality mobile apps. ",
issn="2561-7605",
doi="10.2196/23313",
url="https://aging.jmir.org/2021/1/e23313",
url="https://doi.org/10.2196/23313",
url="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/33605884"
}