The DOI matches its Crossref record; 16 of the 16 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
Smartphone applications for pain management
Abstract
Smartphone applications (or apps) are becoming increasingly popular. The lack of regulation or guidance for health-related apps means that the validity and reliability of their content is unknown. We have conducted a review of available apps relating to the generic condition of pain. The official application stores for five major smartphone platforms were searched: iPhone, Android, Blackberry, Nokia/Symbian and Windows Mobile. Apps were included if they reported a focus on pain education, management or relief, and were not solely aimed at health-care professionals (HCPs). A total of 111 apps met the inclusion criteria. The majority of apps reviewed claimed some information provision or electronic manual component. Diary tracking of pain variables was also a common feature. There was a low level of stated HCP involvement in app development and content. Despite an increasing number of apps being released, the frequency of HCP involvement is not increasing. Pain apps appear to be able to promise pain relief without any concern for the effectiveness of the product, or for possible adverse effects of product use. In a population often desperate for a solution to distressing and debilitating pain conditions, there is considerable risk of individuals being misled.
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In the citing paper
“Overall, the findings show that the majority of available applications do not follow evidence-based guidelines, do not involve health care providers or experts in the development process, and have not undergone any scientific studies of effect and/or validity.”
From ACTsmart: Guided Smartphone-Delivered Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for Chronic Pain—A Pilot Trial. (2021) · cites this paper as [33]
In the citing paper
“Previous reviews of smartphone apps focused mainly on those developed by Apple Inc. 3,30”
From Smartphone applications for melanoma detection by community, patient and generalist clinician users: a review (2015) · cites this paper as [3]
In the citing paper
“The app, which has been developed by a multidisciplinary team including physicians, nurses, psychologists and engineers following guidelines on pain research and eHealth [38,39,40,41], was found to have valid content”
In the citing paper
“In fact, although it has been argued that mobile technology (mHealth)—especially the use of smartphone apps—facilitates this paradigm shift towards telemonitoring in chronic pain care, reviews on this topic have evidenced that randomized controlled trials (RCT) evaluating the usefulness of these tools are lacking in the chronic pain literature [39,41,43,44,45].”
In the citing paper
“One significant challenge is the lack of guidance and involvement of health care providers and intended users in the development process [21,27,32-37].”
From A User-Centered Approach to an Evidence-Based Electronic Health Pain Management Intervention for People With Chronic Pain: Design and Development of EPIO (2020) · cites this paper as [37]
In the citing paper
“There is a need for research in this field because many applications seem to have been developed without the involvement of a health care professional and, to our knowledge, none have been tested in randomized trials [22].”
Citations
Cites
Patient Self-management of Chronic Disease in Primary Care
Bodenheimer, T. (2002) · JAMA · doi:10.1001/jama.288.19.2469 · Cited by 3,598
Pain in children: comparison of assessment scales.
Dl, W., & Cm, B. (1988) · PubMed · Cited by 1,619
Effectiveness of telemedicine: A systematic review of reviews
Ekeland, A. G., Bowes, A., & Flottorp, S. (2010) · International Journal of Medical Informatics · doi:10.1016/j.ijmedinf.2010.08.006 · Cited by 1,162
Healthcare via Cell Phones: A Systematic Review
Krishna, S., Boren, S. A., & Balas, E. A. (2009) · Telemedicine and e-Health · doi:10.1089/tmj.2008.0099 · Cited by 882
Behavioral Methods for Chronic Pain and Illness
Quimby, C. W. (1976) · Anesthesiology · doi:10.1097/00000542-197610000-00030 · Cited by 866
The prevalence of pain in a general population. The results of a postal survey in a county of Sweden
Brattberg, G., Thorslund, M., & Wikman, A. (1989) · Pain · doi:10.1016/0304-3959(89)90133-4 · Cited by 458
How effective are expert patient (lay led) education programmes for chronic disease?
Griffiths, C., Foster, G., Ramsay, J., Eldridge, S. M., & Taylor, S. J. (2007) · BMJ · doi:10.1136/bmj.39227.698785.47 · Cited by 235
Remote Health Monitoring Using Mobile Phones and Web Services
Agarwal, S., & Lau, C. T. (2010) · Telemedicine Journal and e-Health · doi:10.1089/tmj.2009.0165 · Cited by 132
e-Health and chronic pain management: Current status and developments
Keogh, E., Rosser, B. A., & Eccleston, C. (2010) · Pain · doi:10.1016/j.pain.2010.07.014 · Cited by 132
Terry, M. (2010) · Telemedicine Journal and e-Health · doi:10.1089/tmj.2010.9999 · Cited by 115
Research works printed but not linked: 1
- Wong DL, 1988, Pediatr Nurs, 14, 9
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Evaluating mobile phone applications for health behaviour change: A systematic review
McKay, F. H., Cheng, C. C., Wright, A., Shill, J., Stephens, H., & Uccellini, M. (2016) · Journal of Telemedicine and Telecare · doi:10.1177/1357633x16673538 · Cited by 367
Bender, J. L., Yue, R. Y. K., To, M. J., Deacken, L., & Jadad, A. R. (2013) · Journal of Medical Internet Research · doi:10.2196/jmir.2661 · Cited by 346
Medical apps for smartphones: lack of evidence undermines quality and safety
Buijink, A. W. G., Visser, B. J., & Marshall, L. (2013) · Evidence Based Medicine · doi:10.1136/eb-2012-100885 · Cited by 303
“12 Only 12% reported a physician as the app ’ s author.”
BackgroundFinding a Depression App: A Review and Content Analysis of the Depression App Marketplace
Shen, N., Levitan, M.-J., Johnson, A., Bender, J. L., Hamilton-Page, M., Jadad, A. (. R., & Wiljer, D. (2015) · JMIR mHealth and uHealth · doi:10.2196/mhealth.3713 · Cited by 282
“This gap between evidence-based recommendations and app functionality continues to be a common theme across different health conditions [20,21,47,51,57-59].”
BackgroundmHealth and Mobile Medical Apps: A Framework to Assess Risk and Promote Safer Use
Lewis, T., & Wyatt, J. C. (2014) · Journal of Medical Internet Research · doi:10.2196/jmir.3133 · Cited by 281
“For example, certain apps designed for opioid dosage conversion or melanoma detection demonstrate dangerously poor accuracy, while a number of other medical apps do not follow evidence-based guidelines [11-14].”
Background
Metadata
- Authors
- Rosser, B. A., & Eccleston, C.
- Affiliations
- University of Bath (GB)
- Corresponding author
- Eccleston, Christopher
- Venue
- Journal of Telemedicine and Telecare
- Publisher
- SAGE Publications
- Published
- 2011-08-15
- Volume
- 17
- Issue
- 6
- Pages
- 308-312
- ISSN
- 1357-633X (ISSN-L)
- 1758-1109
- OpenAlex
- W2127728884
- Cited by
- 364
- References
- 16
- Citations by year
- 2026: 4 · 2025: 10 · 2024: 12 · 2023: 14 · 2022: 11 · 2021: 22 · 2020: 24 · 2019: 35 · 2018: 29 · 2017: 24 · 2016: 45 · 2015: 38 · 2014: 52 · 2013: 21 · 2012: 18
- FWCI
- 55.80
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Journal of Telemedicine and Telecare (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EP/F002815/1, EP/F001916/1)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Health Professions › General Health Professions › Mobile Health and mHealth Applications
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Applied Psychology › Digital Mental Health Interventions
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine › Pain Management and Opioid Use
- Keywords
- mobile application, pain management, pain education, health apps, app regulation, electronic manuals, misleading health claims, consumer health information
- MeSH terms
- Humans, Medical Records, Cell Phone, Chronic Pain, Pain Management
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