The effect of symptom-tracking apps on symptom reporting.
health apps
period-tracking apps
symptom reporting
symptom trackers
Journal
British journal of health psychology
ISSN: 2044-8287
Titre abrégé: Br J Health Psychol
Pays: England
ID NLM: 9605409
Informations de publication
Date de publication:
11 2020
11 2020
Historique:
received:
01
05
2020
revised:
10
06
2020
pubmed:
14
8
2020
medline:
16
2
2021
entrez:
14
8
2020
Statut:
ppublish
Résumé
The use of health apps is increasing worldwide, with a common feature being daily symptom tracking. However, symptom tracking has been shown to increase symptom reporting. This study investigated whether using a menstrual-monitoring app with a symptom-tracking feature increases symptom reporting compared to an app without this feature or no app at all. Experimental study. Ninety-one participants were randomly allocated to use either a menstrual-monitoring app with a symptom tracker or a simple calendar app, or to a no app control group. The number of period-related symptoms as well as general symptom reporting was assessed at baseline prior to group allocation and then 1 and 4 months later. The change in the proportion of people classified as high symptom reporters was also examined. We found that the symptom-tracking app group reported significantly more period-related symptoms at 4 months than the calendar app group (mean difference = 1.16 symptoms, p = .010). At the 4-month time point, significantly more participants in the symptom-tracking group were now classified as high period symptom reporters (baseline 50%, 4 months 70%, p = .031), while the other two groups did not change from baseline. There were no differences in general symptom reporting across the three groups. A period-monitoring app with a symptom tracker may increase the reporting of period symptoms. This effect does not appear to generalize to broader symptom reporting. Further research is needed to support these findings and to examine the impact of symptom-tracking apps on daily functioning and health anxiety. Statement of contribution What is already known on this subject? The experience of transient symptoms is common in day-to-day life. These symptoms often do not have an underlying cause or are a sign of illness. Actively tracking symptoms has been shown to result in greater symptom reporting, symptom severity, and slower recovery from injury. The use of health apps is increasing, with a common feature being symptom tracking. Menstrual-monitoring apps, in particular, frequently require users to track symptoms. What does this study add? Using a menstrual-monitoring app with a symptom tracker for 4 months increases the number of period-specific symptoms reported compared a basic calendar app. A greater proportion of people were now classified as high period symptom reporters after using the symptom-tracking app. These effects do not seem to generalize to broader non-specific symptom reporting.
Types de publication
Journal Article
Randomized Controlled Trial
Langues
eng
Sous-ensembles de citation
IM
Pagination
1074-1085Informations de copyright
© 2020 The British Psychological Society.
Références
Armstrong, T. S. (2003). Symptoms experience: A concept analysis. Oncology Nursing Forum, 40, 601-612. https://doi.org/10.1188/03.ONF.601-606
Barsky, A. J. (1992). Amplification, somatization, and the somatoform disorders. Psychosomatics, 33, 28-34. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0033-3182(92)72018-0
Ferrari, R. (2015). Effect of a pain diary use on recovery from acute low back (lumbar) sprain. Rheumatology International, 35, 55-59. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00296-014-3082-3
Ferrari, R., & Russell, A. S. (2010). Effect of a symptom diary on symptom frequency and intensity in healthy subjects. The Journal of Rheumatology, 37, 2387-2389. https://doi.org/10.3899/jrheum.100513
Fox, S., & Duggan, M. (2013). Tracking for health. Pew Research Center's Internet & American Life Project. Retrieved from https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2013/01/28/tracking-for-health/
Howren, M. B., & Suls, J. (2011). The symptom perception hypothesis revised: Depression and anxiety play different roles in concurrent and retrospective physical symptom reporting. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 100, 182-195. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0021715
Hsu, J. (1996). Multiple comparisons: Theory and methods. Boca Raton, FL: Chapman and Hall/CRC.
Iqvia Institute (2017). The growing value of digital health: Evidence and impact on human health and the healthcare system. Retrieved from https://www.iqvia.com/insights/the-iqvia-institute/reports/the-growing-value-of-digital-health
Iverson, G. L., Brooks, B. L., Ashton, V. L., & Lange, R. T. (2010). Interview versus questionnaire symptom reporting in people with the postconcussion syndrome. The Journal of Head Trauma Rehabilitation, 25, 23-30. https://doi.org/10.1097/HTR.0b013e3181b4b6ab
Jungmann, S. M., Brand, S., Kolb, J., & Witthöft, M. (2020). Do Dr. Google and health apps have (comparable) side effects? An experimental study. Clinical Psychological Science, 8, 306-317. https://doi.org/10.1177/2167702619894904
Krebs, P., & Duncan, D. T. (2015). Health app use among US mobile phone owners: A national survey. JMIR mHealth and uHealth, 3, e101. https://doi.org/10.2196/mhealth.4924
Leventhal, H. (1986). Symptom reporting: A focus on process. In S. McHugh & T. M. Vallis (Eds.), Illness behavior (pp. 219-237). Boston, MA: Springer.
Martin, R., & Leventhal, H. (2004). Symptom perception and health care-seeking behavior. In J. M. Raczynski & L. C. Leviton (Eds.), Handbook of clinical health psychology, volume 2: Disorders of behavior and health (pp. 299-328). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
McMullan, R. D., Berle, D., Arnáez, S., & Starcevic, V. (2019). The relationships between health anxiety, online health information seeking, and cyberchondria: Systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of Affective Disorders, 245, 270-278. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2018.11.037
Mendiola, M. F., Kalnicki, M., & Lindenauer, S. (2015). Valuable features in mobile health apps for patients and consumers: Content analysis of apps and user ratings. JMIR mHealth and uHealth, 3, e40. https://doi.org/10.2196/mhealth.4283
Moglia, M. L., Nguyen, H. V., Chyjek, K., Chen, K. T., & Castaño, P. M. (2016). Evaluation of smartphone menstrual cycle tracking applications using an adapted APPLICATIONS scoring system. Obstetrics & Gynecology, 127, 1153-1160. https://doi.org/10.1097/AOG.0000000000001444
Pennebaker, J. W. (1981). Stimulus characteristics influencing estimation of heart rate. Psychophysiology, 18, 540-548. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-8986.1981.tb01824.x
Pennebaker, J. W. (1982). The psychology of physical symptoms. New York, NY: Springer.
Petrie, K. J., & Broadbent, E. (2019). Symptom perception. In C. Llewellyn, S. Ayers, C. McManus, S. Newman, K. J. Petrie, T. A. Revenson & J. Weinman (Eds.), Cambridge handbook of psychology, health and medicine (pp. 89-92). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
Petrie, K. J., Faasse, K., Crichton, F., & Grey, A. (2014). How common are symptoms? Evidence from a New Zealand national telephone survey. British Medical Journal Open, 4, e005374. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2014-005374
Petrie, K. J., MacKrill, K., Silvester, C., Gamble, G. D., Dalbeth, N., & Pennebaker, J. W. (2019). OK Computer? A time analysis of Google searches about symptoms. Clinical Psychology in Europe, 1, 1-10. https://doi.org/10.32872/cpe.v1i2.32774
Petrie, K. J., Moss-Morris, R., Grey, C., & Shaw, M. (2004). The relationship of negative affect and perceived sensitivity to symptom reporting following vaccination. British Journal of Health Psychology, 9, 101-111. https://doi.org/10.1348/135910704322778759
Rief, W., Barsky, A. J., Glombiewski, J. A., Nestoriuc, Y., Glaesmer, H., & Braehler, E. (2011). Assessing general side effects in clinical trials: Reference data from the general population. Pharmacoepidemiology and Drug Safety, 20, 405-415. https://doi.org/10.1002/pds.2067
Rief, W., Nestoriuc, Y., von Lilienfeld-Toal, A., Dogan, I., Schreiber, F., Hofmann, S. G., … Avorn, J. (2009). Differences in adverse effect reporting in placebo groups in SSRI and tricyclic antidepressant trials. Drug Safety, 32, 1041-1056. https://doi.org/10.2165/11316580-000000000-00000
van Wijk, C. M. G., & Kolk, A. M. (1997). Sex differences in physical symptoms: The contribution of symptom perception theory. Social Science & Medicine, 45, 231-246. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0277-9536(96)00340-1
Watson, D., & Pennebaker, J. W. (1989). Health complaints, stress and distress: Exploring the central role of negative affectivity. Psychological Review, 96, 234-254. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-295X.96.2.234