Chronic kidney disease and mobile health: quality of renal nutritional APPs in Italy
Keywords:
chronic kidney disease, nutrition, mobile APPs, mobile-health technologyAbstract
Background and aim: Patient with chronic kidney disease (CKD) must adhere to a nutritional therapy characterized by a restrictive dietary scheme. Nutritional self-care can be enhanced through the use of nutritional apps. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the characteristics of specific nutritional apps for chronic renal failure available in Italy.
Methods: A systematic search of mobile apps was conducted by two academic researchers in three Italian App stores: Google Play Store, Apple Store and Huawei AppGallery. Of the 1602 apps identified, 2 apps (Miku; MyFIR) were evaluated with the Italian version of a Mobile Application Rating Scale (MARS-ITA) by a multidisciplinary team of 20 professionals.
Results: The study found that the two selected apps, available in the Google Play Store and Apple Store, aim to increase well-being through the acquisition of knowledge and behavioral change; but none identify health goals that should be achieved. The strategies used by the two applications are: information, education, monitoring and cognitive-behavioral challenge. The technical analysis showed adequate protection of personal data but only the most downloaded app (Miku) provides the possibility to share content, to send reminders and to browse when offline.
Conclusions: The main Italian app stores have two applications to monitor physical health and nutrition in patients with renal disease. Although these are free, easily accessible, navigable and valid in terms of health monitoring and information, greater availability of the offer would be desirable.
References
Webster AC, Nagler EV, Morton RL, et al. Chronic Kidney Disease. Lancet. 2017 Mar 25;389(10075):1238-1252. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(16)32064-5. Epub 2016 Nov 23.
Liyanage T, Ninomiya T, Jha V et al. Worldwide access to treatment for end-stage kidney disease: a systematic review. Lancet 2015 May 16; 385(9981): 1975-82. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(14)61601-9.
John A, Alpert P, Kawi J, Tandy R. The Relationship Between Self-Efficacy and Fluid and Dietary Compliance in Hemodialysis Patients. Clinical Scholars Review 2013; 6: 98-104. doi:10.1891/1939-2095.6.2.98.
Hayashi A, Yamaguchi S, Waki K et al. Testing the Feasibility and Usability of a Novel Smartphone-Based Self-Management Support System for Dialysis Patients: A Pilot Study. JMIR Res Protoc 2017 Apr 20; 6(4): e63. doi: 10.2196/resprot.7105.
Stevenson JK, Campbell ZC, Webster AC et al. E-Health interventions for people with chronic kidney disease. Cochrane Database Syst Rev 2019 Aug 6; 8(8): CD012379. doi: 10.1002/14651858.
Eysenbach G. What is e-health? J Med Internet Res 2001; 3(2): e20. doi:10.2196/jmir.3.2.e20
Malkina A, Tuot DS. Role of telehealth in renal replacement therapy education. Semin Dial 2018 Mar; 31(2): 129-134. doi: 10.1111/sdi.12663.
Kosa SD, Monize J, D'Souza M, et al. Nutritional Mobile APPlications for CKD Patients: Systematic Review. Kidney Int Rep 2018 Nov 29; 4(3): 399-407. doi: 10.1016/j.ekir.2018.11.016.
Lambert K, Mullan J, Mansfield K, Owen P. Should We Recommend Renal Diet–Related Apps to Our Patients? An Evaluation of the Quality and Health Literacy Demand of Renal Diet–Related Mobile Applications. J Ren Nutr 2017 Nov; 27(6): 430-438. doi: 10.1053/j.jrn.2017.06.007.
Ikizler TA, Burrowes JD, Byham-Gray LD, et al. KDOQI Clinical Practice Guideline for Nutrition in CKD: 2020 Update. Am J Kidney Dis. 2020 Sep;76(3 Suppl 1):S1-S107. doi: 10.1053/j.ajkd.2020.05.006. Erratum in: Am J Kidney Dis. 2021 Feb;77(2):308.
Domnich A, Arata L, Amicizia D, et al. Development and validation of the Italian version of the Mobile Application Rating Scale and its generalisability to apps targeting primary prevention. BMC Med Inform Decis Mak. 2016 Jul 7;16:83. doi: 10.1186/s12911-016-0323-2.
Associazione Nazionale Emodializzati. Hemo APPétit©: l’APPlicazione per l’educazione nutrizionale del paziente emodializzato. ANED 2019. Available at: https://www.aned-onlus.it/a-bologna-per-un-futuro-senza-dialisi/rossella-ambrosca/[ accessed February 22, 2023].
Lim JH, Lim CK, Ibrahim I et al. Limitation of Existing Dialysis Diet Apps in Promoting User Engagement and Patient Self-Management: Quantitative Content Analysis Study. JMIR Mhealth Uhealth 2020 Jun 1; 8(6): e13808. doi: 10.2196/13808
Siddique AB, Krebs M, Alvarez S et al. Mobile Apps for the Care Management of Chronic Kidney and End-Stage Renal Diseases: Systematic Search in App Stores and Evaluation. JMIR Mhealth Uhealth. 2019 Sep 4; 7(9): e12604. doi: 10.2196/12604.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2023 Addolorata Palmisano, Salvatore Angileri, Fanny Soekeland, Domenica Gazineo, Lea Godino, Serenella Savini, Desirèe Andreoli, Stefano Mancin
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0) which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Transfer of Copyright and Permission to Reproduce Parts of Published Papers.
Authors retain the copyright for their published work. No formal permission will be required to reproduce parts (tables or illustrations) of published papers, provided the source is quoted appropriately and reproduction has no commercial intent. Reproductions with commercial intent will require written permission and payment of royalties.
How to Cite
