Twelve Smartphone Applications for Health Management of Older Adults during the COVID-19 Pandemic
Abstract
:1. Introduction
2. Methods
Procedure
3. Results
4. Discussion
4.1. Social and Emotional Health Promotion and Maintenance
4.2. Symptom and Condition Management
4.3. Communication with the Health Care System
4.4. Medication Management
4.5. Physical Activity
4.6. Nutrition Management
4.7. Limitations
5. Conclusions
Author Contributions
Funding
Institutional Review Board Statement
Informed Consent Statement
Data Availability Statement
Conflicts of Interest
References
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Domain | App Name | Option | Manufacturer | Function |
---|---|---|---|---|
Social and emotional health promotion and maintenance | Wysa | Free to download. Therapist access (Weekly) US$29.99, Therapist access (Monthly) US$79.99, Therapist access (Quarterly) US$144.99, Wysa Premium (Annual) US$99.99, 1:1 Life Coaching Sessions US$47.99, Wysa Premium (Monthly) US$11.99 | commercial company, healthcare institution | Users can talk to AI penguins to better cope with psychological disorders, whether it is to manage stress or seek to improve mental health, treatment-based technology and dialogue create an appealing and calm therapeutic chat app. |
MindDoc: Mood Tracker for Depression & Anxiety | Free to download. Per item US$6.49–US$84.99 | commercial company | MindDoc is a leading monitoring and self-management application for mental health disorders like depression, anxiety, eating disorders and stress. | |
Symptom and condition management | Ada-your health companion | All free | commercial company, healthcare institution | Ada helps users and their families in checking symptoms and discovering what might be causing them. It doesn’t require an appointment and can be used at any time. Its symptom checker can help users in assessing if their symptoms require them to see a doctor. |
Diseases Dictionary | All free | commercial company | Detailed description of major medical conditions and diseases: definition; symptoms; causes; risk factors; complications; preparing for your appointment; tests and diagnosis; treatments and drugs; lifestyle and home remedies | |
Communication with the health care system | Telehealth by SimplePractice | All free | commercial company | Face-to-face video therapy with a specialist. Connect anytime, anywhere. From calendar to video call in one tap. Simple for you and your client. Get started with one link. |
Blood Pressure Diary | All free | commercial company | It helps in evaluating blood pressure on a daily basis, provides information on blood pressure management and displays blood pressure in a calendar which can be communicated to a doctor. | |
Medication management | Medisafe | Free to download. Per item US$2.99–US$39.99 | commercial company, healthcare institution | It is a medication time reminder and medication management application which helps in taking medications safely and on time. Users can also use this application to help their family take medicine. |
MyTherapy | All free | commercial company, healthcare institution | Body weight, blood pressure, blood sugar levels, etc. can be measured and recorded through this application, enabling systematic management of most diseases (diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, depression and high blood pressure among others). | |
Physical activity | FitOn-Free Fitness Workouts & Personalized Plans | Free to download. Per item US$14.99–US$119.99 | commercial company | It assists in reaching user goals with personalized workout plans. Goals can include weight loss, building muscles, increasing cardio endurance or reducing stress. |
Samsung Health | All free | commercial company | It checks and records overall physical activity, such as walking, running, biking, and indoor and outdoor sports. | |
Nutrition management | Lifesum - Diet Plan, Macro Calculator & Food Diary | Free to download. Per item US$3.75–US$52.56 | commercial company | It helps in setting diet plans and giving diet tips for any goal. It includes calorie counter and food tracker with barcode scanner for easy logging. Its macro calculator keeps tabs on daily macros, nutrition and calories. Its food planner provides recipes for any plan. |
Health and Nutrition Guide & Fitness Calculators | Free to download. US$2.00 per item | commercial company | It provides information on foods for users at risk of allergies or diseases. It includes image information about foods that may be helpful for each symptom and information on vegetarian food in general. |
Domain | App Name | Ratings | User Comments |
---|---|---|---|
Social and emotional health promotion and maintenance | Wysa | 4.7 stars; 66.4 K ratings | The app does a good job of clearing your mind and making you rationalize your thoughts. It’s very soothing and the AI is quite intelligent. I’m impressed with how well it communicates and responds to hard dialogue. Obviously it is not perfect and there is always room for improvement, but it’s still impressive. |
MindDoc: Mood Tracker for Depression & Anxiety | 4.6 stars; 34.8 ratings | The best mindfulness/meditation/mental health app I’ve used, and I’ve used a lot. I usually don’t pay for app subscriptions, but this one is worth it. It incorporates more specifically targeted practices than most apps, and keeping track of your mood with very thoughtful questions is really helpful. | |
Symptom and condition management | Ada-your health companion | 4.7 stars; 287 K ratings | Ada is an intelligent app. It is a sure guide to the identification of possible causes of people’s health issues. It is a veritable instrument of medical advice especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. It is a near-perfect effort which all the users of android phones must identify with to help themselves and their loved ones get useful advice concerning their health. |
Diseases Dictionary | 4.4 stars; 28.2 K ratings | We should consult a doctor when we suspect a disease and this app is no alternative. But it helps in memorizing the symptoms of few common diseases and is a knowledge provider. We come across many new diseases every day and this helps in knowing about them and the steps we must take to prevent them. Thanks. | |
Communication with the health care system | Telehealth by SimplePractice | 4.4 stars; 5 K ratings | Telehealth has allowed me the opportunity to have amazing therapy sessions during this time of pandemic. In fact even when we can meet face-to-face I think I might still use Telehealth because of how well it works with my schedule. It saves me time and money that I would usually spend driving to mine. |
Blood Pressure Diary | 4.7 stars; 35.2 K ratings | Brilliant! It records your BP, gives you history and tells you which range your BP is in – pre-hypertension, stage 1/2 or normal, if you’re fortunate! Plus you can email your records straight to your doctor. I really like this app and it is easy to use too! | |
Medication management | Medisafe | 4.6 stars; 208 K ratings | I have used this app for many years. I have had several TBI’s and this app has been there for me to remind me when to take my meds. My docs love it ‘cause I can show them or ramble off my list of meds for them. Some have shared this app even with their patients. It is relatively easy to use & update. It also has a friend reminder so someone else can remind you too. I love the tracker system in it so I am able to look back & see what meds I have missed. I’m even able to track docs & refills. Best app ever! |
MyTherapy | 4.7 stars; 86.5 K ratings | It does everything I need it to while managing to remain unobtrusive. And when I say everything, I mean everything. Not only does it track my medications, blood pressure readings and symptoms, but I can even export them into a clean PDF for my doctor. It is an incredibly convenient way to manage my health when I have to coordinate care between multiple providers. | |
Physical activity | FitOn-Free Fitness Workouts & Personalized Plans | 4.8 stars; 26.3 K ratings | Being at home and never knowing when my Gym will be open, this app rocks! Challenges weekly, daily and you can customize your workouts according to length, type and level of difficulty. There are so many Coaches to choose from as well. You can even join groups for support and in home workouts. I have tried many a fitness App over the past years, but this one by far exceeded my expectations. You can also upgrade and join for very low$ or just continue with basic options. Either way FitOn won’t disappoint. |
Samsung Health | 4.0 stars; 1114 K ratings | This app is user friendly. You can customize it to your needs. It helps you monitor stress, sleep, heart rate and blood pressure. Follow the instructions and you will have a somewhat accurate result to how this app is designed for your use. I enjoy this app as much as an everyday user. It helps me monitor my calorie intake (not that I am worried, it gives me an idea of what I am eating and how much I should be eating more of). | |
Nutrition management | Lifesum-Diet Plan, Macro Calculator & Food Diary | 4.5 stars; 257 K ratings | It is very user friendly and does so much more than simply logging food. It is well laid out. Gives you insights on your eating habits, gentle encouragement on where changes are needed and the nutritional info for foods is amongst the best you will find. The food plans are great too if like me you don’t like being tied to recipes! |
Health and Nutrition Guide & Fitness Calculators | 4.5 stars; 1.7 K ratings | It is very informative about what foods help on what health issues. Give good insight on pros and cons of many fruits and vegetables. I like it. |
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Ha, S.K.; Lee, H.S.; Park, H.Y. Twelve Smartphone Applications for Health Management of Older Adults during the COVID-19 Pandemic. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2021, 18, 10235. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph181910235
Ha SK, Lee HS, Park HY. Twelve Smartphone Applications for Health Management of Older Adults during the COVID-19 Pandemic. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 2021; 18(19):10235. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph181910235
Chicago/Turabian StyleHa, Seong Kyu, Hey Sig Lee, and Hae Yean Park. 2021. "Twelve Smartphone Applications for Health Management of Older Adults during the COVID-19 Pandemic" International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 18, no. 19: 10235. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph181910235
APA StyleHa, S. K., Lee, H. S., & Park, H. Y. (2021). Twelve Smartphone Applications for Health Management of Older Adults during the COVID-19 Pandemic. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(19), 10235. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph181910235