The Top Chinese Mobile Health Apps: A Systematic Investigation
Open accessAbstract
BACKGROUND: China's mHealth market is on track to become a global leader by industry size. The Chinese mobile app market and health care system have peculiarities that distinguish them from other app markets. To date, Chinese mHealth apps have not been systematically investigated. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to provide an overview of Chinese mHealth apps as of December 2015. METHODS: We identified and investigated the most downloaded apps from the iOS and Android platforms. For each app, we analyzed and recorded its main service offered, mHealth initiative, disease and specialty focus, app cost, target user, Web app availability, and emphasis on information security. Standard descriptive statistics were used. RESULTS: A total of 234 apps met the inclusion criteria and were investigated. The apps targeting nonhealth care professionals focused on providing telemedicine and appointment-making services. The apps targeting health care professionals focused on education and peer reviewed articles. The most common disease-specific apps focused primarily on diabetes, hypertension, and hepatitis management. Most apps were free and available on both iOS and Android platforms. CONCLUSIONS: The primary mHealth initiatives targeted by the apps reflect Chinese patients' demand for access to medical care. Disease-specific apps are also representative of disease prevalence in China. Government press releases suggest that new policies on the horizon may shift the industry.
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Political commitment is key in digital health innovation and uptake, through advocacy, financial support, and stakeholder engagement.
“Political commitment is key in digital health innovation and uptake, through advocate, financial support, and stakeholder engagement.”
From Digital health interventions for non-communicable disease management in primary health care in low-and middle-income countries (2023) · cites this paper as [38]
Lack of political commitment, including regulations, standardization, monitoring, and evaluation, could be important barriers to digital health uptake.
“Lack of political commitment, including regulations, standardization, monitoring, and evaluation, could be important barriers to digital health uptake.”
From Digital health interventions for non-communicable disease management in primary health care in low-and middle-income countries (2023) · cites this paper as [38]
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- Authors
- Hsu, J., Liu, D., Yu, Y. M., Zhao, H. T., Chen, Z. R., Li, J., & Chen, W.
- Affiliations
- Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College (CN)
- Corresponding author
- Chen, Wei
- Venue
- Journal of Medical Internet Research
- Publisher
- JMIR Publications Inc.
- Published
- 2016-08-29
- Volume
- 18
- Issue
- 8
- Pages
- e222
- ISSN
- 1438-8871 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC5020314
- OpenAlex
- W2518395848
- Cited by
- 84
- References
- 16
- Citations by year
- 2026: 4 · 2025: 3 · 2024: 5 · 2023: 9 · 2022: 5 · 2021: 7 · 2020: 20 · 2019: 13 · 2018: 11 · 2017: 6 · 2016: 1
- FWCI
- 19.25
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- doi.org
- Licence
- cc-by
- Locations
- Journal of Medical Internet Research (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Health Professions › General Health Professions › Mobile Health and mHealth Applications
- Health Sciences › Health Professions › Health Information Management › Health, Technology, Consumer Behavior
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Applied Psychology › Digital Mental Health Interventions
- Keywords
- mobile health apps, telemedicine, diabetes management, antihypertensive therapy, hepatitis management, app cost, information security, Android and iOS apps
- MeSH terms
- China, Humans, Telemedicine, Mobile Applications
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