The DOI matches its Crossref record; 30 of the 30 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
Smartphone Apps for Schizophrenia: A Systematic Review
Open accessAbstract
BACKGROUND: There is increasing interest in using mobile technologies such as smartphones for improving the care of patients with schizophrenia. However, less is known about the current clinical evidence for the feasibility and effectiveness of smartphone apps in this population. OBJECTIVE: To review the published literature of smartphone apps applied for the care of patients with schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders. METHODS: An electronic database search of Ovid MEDLINE, the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Health Technology Assessment Database, Allied and Complementary Medicine, Health and Psychosocial Instruments, PsycINFO, and Embase was conducted on May 24, 2015. All eligible studies were systematically reviewed, and proportional meta-analyses were applied to pooled data on recruitment, retention, and adherence to examine the overall feasibility of smartphone interventions for schizophrenia. RESULTS: Our search produced 226 results from which 7 eligible articles were identified, reporting on 5 studies of smartphone apps for patients with schizophrenia. All examined feasibility, and one assessed the preliminary efficacy of a smartphone intervention for schizophrenia. Study lengths varied between 6 and 130 days. Overall retention was 92% (95% CI 82-98%). Participants consistently used the smartphone apps on more than 85% of days during the study period, averaging 3.95 interactions per person per day. Furthermore, participants responded to 71.9% of automated prompts (95% CI 65.7-77.8%). Participants reported a range of potential benefits from the various interventions, and user experience was largely positive. CONCLUSIONS: Although small, the current published literature demonstrates strong evidence for the feasibility of using smartphones to enhance the care of people with schizophrenia. High rates of engagement and satisfaction with a broad range of apps suggest the nascent potential of this mobile technology. However, there remains limited data on the efficacy of such interventions.
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“It also states that people at risk for a psychotic episode and those who just experienced their first psychotic episode were most likely to use the app.”
From Mobile intervention for individuals with psychosis, dual disorders, and their common comorbidities: A literature review (2019) · cites this paper as [93]
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredThe source backs part of the claim, not all of it — or backs it for a different population, condition or comparison.
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“a literature review by Firth and Torous (93) identified five applications, evaluated in seven separate articles—those apps were primarily designed to promote self-management of the disease.”
From Mobile intervention for individuals with psychosis, dual disorders, and their common comorbidities: A literature review (2019) · cites this paper as [93]
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“The authors report that the majority of applications were very well received by participants, with an estimated average use of 85% of the days in which the studies were conducted, 3.95 times per day.”
From Mobile intervention for individuals with psychosis, dual disorders, and their common comorbidities: A literature review (2019) · cites this paper as [93]
In the citing paper
“Research on DMHTs for severe mental illness, such as bipolar and psychotic disorders, has shown feasibility, although efficacy data remain more limited (33, 34).”
From Banbury forum consensus statement on the path forward for digital mental health treatment (2021) · cites this paper as [33]
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Citations
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“Patients with schizophrenia may therefore face a double stigma when approaching smartphones, from not only the nature of their illness, but also attitudes regarding their capacities to engage with such technologies [8].”
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Metadata
- Authors
- Firth, J., & Torous, J.
- Affiliations
- University of Manchester (GB)
- Brigham and Women's Hospital (US)
- Corresponding author
- Torous, John
- Venue
- JMIR mHealth and uHealth
- Publisher
- JMIR Publications Inc.
- Published
- 2015-11-06
- Volume
- 3
- Issue
- 4
- Pages
- e102
- ISSN
- 2291-5222 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC4704940
- OpenAlex
- W2116293971
- Cited by
- 268
- References
- 30
- Citations by year
- 2026: 4 · 2025: 22 · 2024: 18 · 2023: 19 · 2022: 28 · 2021: 30 · 2020: 42 · 2019: 31 · 2018: 38 · 2017: 21 · 2016: 14 · 2015: 1
- FWCI
- 3.43
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- doi.org
- Licence
- cc-by
- Locations
- JMIR mhealth and uhealth (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Research Explorer (The University of Manchester) (publishedVersion, other-oa)
- DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Applied Psychology › Digital Mental Health Interventions
- Health Sciences › Health Professions › General Health Professions › Mobile Health and mHealth Applications
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Psychiatry and Mental health › Schizophrenia research and treatment
- Keywords
- mobile application, schizophrenia, psychosis, mobile health, feasibility, participant retention, app adherence, user engagement, user satisfaction, digital mental health interventions
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