Mobile Health Apps: References Reliability Analysis

Production of mobile health apps and their use has grown increasingly in recent years which indicate the profound influence of these apps on health care processes and health of the community. Mobile health apps must be made on the basis of reliable scientific resources so that users can use them with confidence. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the reliability of resources used in the creation of the content of the top Persian mobile health applications.
In this descriptive, cross-sectional study conducted in March 2015, 200 of the top mobile health applications were installed, and their references and some of their other features were studied. The data were collected using a checklist, entered into an Excel spreadsheet, and were analyzed using descriptive statistics.
Review of the references used in the apps studied showed that 20% of them had no list of references, and only 5.10% (21 cases) used content from reliable sources.
The results of this study are applicable to taking control of the quality of mobile health apps and helping users have access to high-quality and reliable apps by regulatory agencies.