Open research questions in Mobile Health and mHealth Applications
998 gap statements mined from Mobile Health and mHealth Applications papers in our 7.9M-paper local library, which holds 3,771 papers on the topic — drawn mostly from each paper's own stated research gap, future-work, challenge and limitation notes, and its abstract. The ones listed below are a selection still marked open; each names the study that raised it, with a DOI link where the paper has one.
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What the literature leaves open
The management of T1DM in children and adolescents is challenging due to the need for daily insulin administration and frequent blood glucose monitoring. The use of mHealth interventions may be limited by technical issues, such as app usability and accessibility. The paper identifies the need for further research on the clinical impact and behavioral mechanisms of mHealth interventions for pediatric T1DM care.
Digital Health Interventions in Children and Adolescents With Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus and Their Impact on Clinical and Behavioral Outcomes: Scoping Review · 2026 · DOIThe clinical impact of mHealth interventions for pediatric T1DM care is not well established. The behavioral mechanisms through which mHealth interventions operate are not well understood. There is a need for a comprehensive review of mHealth apps for pediatric T1DM care.
Digital Health Interventions in Children and Adolescents With Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus and Their Impact on Clinical and Behavioral Outcomes: Scoping Review · 2026 · DOIPatients and clinicians identified the need for simplicity and efficiency in app design.
Evidence on which sources European residents actually use and trust is limited. There is a need to explore which sources of recommendations European residents use and trust when choosing health apps. There is also a need to investigate whether residents support government review and rating of health apps.
Trust and Use of Recommendations for Health Apps Among European Residents: Cross-Sectional Survey · 2026 · DOIMany apps provide incomplete or inaccurate safer sleep guidance. Some apps promote unsafe sleep practices. There is a need for improvement in the safer sleep guidance provided by these apps. The lack of affiliation with professional health or government bodies is a challenge for many apps.
Safer Sleep Guidance in Standalone UK Smartphone Apps for Parents of Newborns and Infants: Systematic mHealth App Review · 2026 · DOIThe study identifies the complexity of the impact of mHealth on physical and mental well-being. The study notes the potential unintended negative consequences of mHealth use. The study highlights the need to examine the underlying mechanism of mHealth's effectiveness.
Managing BMI and Emotional Distress Using mHealth: Nationally Representative Survey Study · 2026 · DOIThere is a need to explore the configurations of psychosocial and behavioral conditions associated with low engagement.
Adolescents’ Engagement With an mHealth Multiple Health Behavior Change Intervention (LIFE4YOUth): Mixed Methods and Qualitative Comparative Analysis · 2026 · DOIThe study faced challenges in identifying and including all relevant apps, as the systematic search was last updated in 2023. The study also faced challenges in analyzing the content of apps, as some apps may no longer be available or may have changed substantially since the time of data extraction. The study highlights the need for ongoing monitoring and evaluation of the content of mobile apps for tinnitus.
Mobile Apps for Tinnitus: Systematic Search in App Stores and Review of Intervention Components and Behavior Change Techniques · 2026 · DOIMore recently developed apps might include more complex CBT components or a greater variety of BCTs. Future research could analyze apps in other languages. Future research could capture cultural or regional differences in app design and content.
Mobile Apps for Tinnitus: Systematic Search in App Stores and Review of Intervention Components and Behavior Change Techniques · 2026 · DOIIndividuals poststroke or TIA often have limited access to long-term support for physical activity. Many individuals poststroke fail to meet recommended physical activity levels and require therapist-led support to maintain long-term engagement in physical activity. The study had to account for varying levels of adherence and engagement among participants.
Adherence to and Engagement With an mHealth Physical Activity Intervention After Mild Stroke or Transient Ischemic Attack: Secondary Analysis of a Feasibility Randomized Controlled Trial · 2026 · DOIThere were issues with suspected fraudulent accounts and mismatched demographic responses. The app's limited connectivity with the wider recovery world may have contributed to mixed levels of engagement.
Designing mHealth Apps for Substance Use Recovery Through Real-World Co-Design and Deployment: Mixed Methods Study · 2026 · DOIStudies that aim to assess the effectiveness of mHealth technology either focus on behavioral lifestyle as the end outcome. Studies examine physical or mental health outcomes without exploring the underlying mechanism.
Managing BMI and Emotional Distress Using mHealth: Nationally Representative Survey Study · 2026 · DOIThe geographical restriction to a single urban-rural cluster in Xiamen may limit the generalizability of the findings. The relatively small sample size could further constrain the population representativeness. The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted in-person follow-ups, necessitating alternative methods that may introduce bias.
Effects of the mHealth Supportive Care Program for Family Caregivers of Individuals With Dementia and Diabetes: Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial · 2026 · DOIInvestigate the impact of developer involvement on the effectiveness of digital health interventions, - Examine the relationship between developer involvement and reporting biases in digital health intervention trials, - Explore the effects of industry sponsorship on the outcomes of digital health intervention…
Clinical trials for digital health interventions: a rapid review of study independence and the developer effect · 2026 · DOILimited to the experimental arm of a feasibility randomized controlled trial, - No specific instructions for intended usage of self-managed mHealth support were provided, - The study was a secondary analysis of data from a feasibility randomized controlled…
Adherence to and Engagement With an mHealth Physical Activity Intervention After Mild Stroke or Transient Ischemic Attack: Secondary Analysis of a Feasibility Randomized Controlled Trial · 2026 · DOIFurther research should test which review and rating mechanisms most effectively change consumer behavior and health outcomes - Research should investigate the effectiveness of different types of health apps - Studies should examine the impact of health apps on various health…
Trust and Use of Recommendations for Health Apps Among European Residents: Cross-Sectional Survey · 2026 · DOIThe study had a small sample size of 53 participants, - The study used a single-arm trial design, - The study did not include a control group, - The study relied on self-reported data, - The study had a limited duration of 6…
Designing mHealth Apps for Substance Use Recovery Through Real-World Co-Design and Deployment: Mixed Methods Study · 2026 · DOIThe participants were not randomly assigned to different treatment groups, - The lack of postexperiment data prevents assessment of the long-term sustainability of the goal personalization effect, - The study only compares personalized goals to a fixed 2000-step goal, - The study does not have data to test whether the goal personalization effect extends to other health-related…
Effectiveness of Step Goal Personalization Strategies on Physical Activity in a Mobile Health App: A Field Study · 2026 · DOIA randomized field experiment could fully mitigate potential biases, - Assessing the long-term sustainability of the goal personalization effect, - Testing whether the goal personalization effect extends to other health-related activities, - Comparing different types of goals (e.g. 5000-step goal), - Exploring other goal personalization algorithms…
Effectiveness of Step Goal Personalization Strategies on Physical Activity in a Mobile Health App: A Field Study · 2026 · DOIInvestigate the quality of adolescents' engagement with intervention content in more depth, - Explore how engagement levels relate to the effectiveness of multiple behavior change interventions in adolescents, - Examine the effectiveness of the multiple behavior approach for adolescents with different needs…
Adolescents’ Engagement With an mHealth Multiple Health Behavior Change Intervention (LIFE4YOUth): Mixed Methods and Qualitative Comparative Analysis · 2026 · DOIEvaluate the cost-effectiveness of the mHealth supportive care program, - Conduct a larger-scale study with a more diverse population, - Investigate the long-term effects…
Effects of the mHealth Supportive Care Program for Family Caregivers of Individuals With Dementia and Diabetes: Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial · 2026 · DOIFurther investigation into how engagement strategies can be tailored to individual user characteristics and contextual factors, - Investigation into the effectiveness of different engagement strategies in nutrition…
The study did not report on the long-term effectiveness of the intervention, - The study had a limited sample size, - The study did not control for external factors that may have influenced…
Action Planning for Reducing Sugar-Sweetened Beverage Intake in Appalachian Adults: Longitudinal Process Evaluation of a Digital Behavioral Health Intervention · 2026 · DOIThe study was limited to low- and moderate-risk adults enrolled in cardiac rehabilitation, - The study used a specific set of tailoring strategies that may not be generalizable to other populations, - The study did not account for real-time behavioral data or evolving user…
Characteristics of Tailored Text Messages Associated With Increased Physical Activity Among Cardiac Rehabilitation Enrollees: Secondary Analysis of a Microrandomized Trial · 2026 · DOIDeveloping learning algorithms that can learn and adapt to user preferences, - Adjusting text delivery over time to more effectively augment and extend the benefits of center-based CR, - Investigating the impact of text tailoring on physical activity levels in other…
Characteristics of Tailored Text Messages Associated With Increased Physical Activity Among Cardiac Rehabilitation Enrollees: Secondary Analysis of a Microrandomized Trial · 2026 · DOI
Most-cited papers in Mobile Health and mHealth Applications
- Diary Methods: Capturing Life as it is Lived · Annual Review of Psychology · 2002 · 2,764 citations
- Just-in-Time Adaptive Interventions (JITAIs) in Mobile Health: Key Components and Design Principles for Ongoing Health Behavior Support · Annals of Behavioral Medicine · 2016 · 1,902 citations
- Behavior Change Interventions Delivered by Mobile Telephone Short-Message Service · American Journal of Preventive Medicine · 2009 · 991 citations
- Use of the Internet and E-mail for Health Care Information · JAMA · 2003 · 880 citations
- Mobile Health Technology Evaluation · American Journal of Preventive Medicine · 2013 · 823 citations
- Annual Research Review: Digital health interventions for children and young people with mental health problems – a systematic and meta‐review · Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry · 2016 · 770 citations
- Mobile Text Messaging for Health: A Systematic Review of Reviews · Annual Review of Public Health · 2015 · 753 citations
- Wearable Devices as Facilitators, Not Drivers, of Health Behavior Change · JAMA · 2015 · 706 citations
- mHealth for mental health: Integrating smartphone technology in behavioral healthcare. · Professional Psychology Research and Practice · 2011 · 684 citations
- Characteristics of online and offline health information seekers and factors that discriminate between them · Social Science & Medicine · 2004 · 644 citations
Most recent work
- Wearable devices and cardiovascular health: revolutionizing remote monitoring and disease prevention · European Heart Journal · 2026
- Digital health interventions in strengthening primary healthcare systems in Sub-Saharan Africa: Insights from Ethiopia, Ghana, and Zimbabwe · PLOS Digital Health · 2026
- Navigating the complexities of digital health technology implementation: a scoping review of barriers and facilitators · Implementation Science Communications · 2026
- Evaluation of validity, reliability, and readability of AI chatbots for gestational diabetes mellitus: a multi-model comparative study · Frontiers in Public Health · 2026
- Acceptance and use of digital health technologies among physiotherapists in Germany: a web-based cross-sectional survey · BMC Health Services Research · 2026
- Co-designing the future: End-user involvement in digital interventions · npj Digital Medicine · 2026
- Bridging the data–power paradox: a conceptual–empirical analysis of solar-powered digital health systems in low-resource settings · Frontiers in Digital Health · 2026
- Development and evaluation of an large language model-integrated chatbot intervention for physical activity habit formation in adults with prehypertension · Digital Health · 2026
- Health care access from the rural perspective: A narrative review · The Journal of Rural Health · 2026
- Impact of a Smartwatch Hypertension Notification Feature for Population Screening · JAMA · 2026
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