SynthesisJMIR mHealth and uHealth2024
Self-Management Support Apps for Spinal Cord Injury: Results of a Systematic Search in App Stores and Mobile App Rating Scale Evaluation.
Synthesis in JMIR mHealth and uHealth, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
4 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Systematic Review of Artificial Intelligence Applications in Clinical Trials for Central Nervous System Injuries.Current neuropharmacology · 2026Pooled it
- Automatically tailored exercise app training is feasible, usable, and safe for people with paraplegia: a parallel mixed methods pilot study.BMC sports science, medicine & rehabilitation · 2026Article
- Recent Advances in AI-Driven Mobile Health Enhancing Healthcare-Narrative Insights into Latest Progress.Bioengineering (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Review
- Enhancing Self-Management Support Apps for Spinal Cord Injury: The Missing Role of Caregivers.JMIR mHealth and uHealth · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
7 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThe use of mobile technology to meet health needs, widely referred to as mobile health (mHealth), has played a critical role in providing self-management support for chronic health conditions. However, despite its potential benefits, mHealth technologies such as self-management support apps for spinal cord injury (SCI) have received little research attention, and an understanding of their public availability is lacking. Therefore, an overview of these apps is needed to complement findings from the literature for a complete understanding of mHealth self-management support tools for SCI to support the selection and improvement of existing apps and the development of new ones.
objectiveThis study aimed to identify and describe quantity, quality, focus, strengths, and weaknesses of self-management support apps for SCI available on major mobile app digital distribution platforms.
methodsA systematic search of the Google Play Store and Apple App Store was conducted to identify and summarize apps for SCI that have been updated since 2017. A supplementary systematic literature review was conducted across 11 bibliographic databases to identify publications that provided more detailed descriptions of the identified apps than what is typically available in app stores. The data synthesis was guided by self-management tasks and skills taxonomies. The PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) guidelines informed the reporting.
resultsThe 13 apps included in the final synthesis were launched between 2013 and 2021, mostly originating in the United States, with availability in 72 countries and support for 14 languages. Most apps used the Android operating system (10/13, 77%), while 31% (4/13) used iOS. The identified apps mainly focused on activities of daily living, physical activity promotion, health literacy, and therapeutic exercise. All 3 self-management tasks (medical, role, and emotional management) and most self-management skills and support activities were supported by the apps. The mean Mobile App Rating Scale score was 3.86 (SD 0.54), indicating good overall quality. No publications were found describing these apps.
conclusionsDespite their good overall quality, as measured by the Mobile App Rating Scale assessment, the 13 identified apps, alone or combined, do not appear to offer a comprehensive self-management approach that incorporates theory-based strategies. Besides working to improve comprehensiveness, future research and practice should consider adopting new technologies, such as artificial intelligence, to enhance future self-management support apps for SCI. Furthermore, adopting new app development methods, such as low-code development platforms, could help reduce barriers to development, such as time, cost, and securing scarce expertise.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What Socratic holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.