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Cited by 1,274Mobile Health and mHealth ApplicationsHealth, Technology, Consumer BehaviorDigital Mental Health Interventions

The DOI matches its Crossref record; 11 of the 11 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.

Health App Use Among US Mobile Phone Owners: A National Survey

Open access
Krebs, Paul, Duncan, Dustin T·2015·JMIR mHealth and uHealth
DOI 10.2196/mhealth.4924PMC PMC4704953
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Abstract

BACKGROUND: Mobile phone health apps may now seem to be ubiquitous, yet much remains unknown with regard to their usage. Information is limited with regard to important metrics, including the percentage of the population that uses health apps, reasons for adoption/nonadoption, and reasons for noncontinuance of use. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to examine health app use among mobile phone owners in the United States. METHODS: We conducted a cross-sectional survey of 1604 mobile phone users throughout the United States. The 36-item survey assessed sociodemographic characteristics, history of and reasons for health app use/nonuse, perceived effectiveness of health apps, reasons for stopping use, and general health status. RESULTS: A little over half (934/1604, 58.23%) of mobile phone users had downloaded a health-related mobile app. Fitness and nutrition were the most common categories of health apps used, with most respondents using them at least daily. Common reasons for not having downloaded apps were lack of interest, cost, and concern about apps collecting their data. Individuals more likely to use health apps tended to be younger, have higher incomes, be more educated, be Latino/Hispanic, and have a body mass index (BMI) in the obese range (all P<.05). Cost was a significant concern among respondents, with a large proportion indicating that they would not pay anything for a health app. Interestingly, among those who had downloaded health apps, trust in their accuracy and data safety was quite high, and most felt that the apps had improved their health. About half of the respondents (427/934, 45.7%) had stopped using some health apps, primarily due to high data entry burden, loss of interest, and hidden costs. CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that while many individuals use health apps, a substantial proportion of the population does not, and that even among those who use health apps, many stop using them. These data suggest that app developers need to better address consumer concerns, such as cost and high data entry burden, and that clinical trials are necessary to test the efficacy of health apps to broaden their appeal and adoption.

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Figure 1 US distribution of sample by ZIP code.
Figure 1 US distribution of sample by ZIP code.CC BY · PubMed Central

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Metadata

Authors
Krebs, P., & Duncan, D. T.
Affiliations
  • VA NY Harbor Healthcare System (US)
  • New York University (US)
Corresponding author
Krebs, Paul
ORCID
Venue
JMIR mHealth and uHealth
Publisher
JMIR Publications Inc.
Published
2015-11-04
Volume
3
Issue
4
Pages
e101
ISSN
2291-5222 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.2196/mhealth.4924
PMC
PMC4704953
OpenAlex
W2126335261
Cited by
1,274
References
11
Citations by year
2026: 47 · 2025: 98 · 2024: 101 · 2023: 128 · 2022: 127 · 2021: 156 · 2020: 211 · 2019: 140 · 2018: 151 · 2017: 85 · 2016: 28
FWCI
160.52
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
cc-by
Locations
  • JMIR mhealth and uhealth (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
Funders
Verizon Foundation
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
health apps, mobile health, app adoption, fitness apps, nutrition apps, data privacy concerns, app cost, obesity

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