An analysis of factors influencing the popularity and user satisfaction of hypertension self-management applications: a cross-sectional study in China

Abstract

Background: As the largest developing country in the world, China lacks data on the content and popularity of smartphone self-management apps for HTN. The major functional characteristics and consumer interaction metrics of smartphone apps are unknown. This is the first study to provide an evaluation of Chinese smartphone-based self-management apps for hypertension in user angle. We analyzed the Chinese Android and iPhone markets using the search terms ‘‘hypertension’’ and “high blood pressure’’ in July 2018. All search items were screened according to inclusion and exclusion criteri Fifty-six of the apps included (47.9%) were designed for the Apple iPhone, and 61 (52.1%) were designed for Android devices. Moreover, 93.2% were used for blood pressure (BP) self-monitoring, 17.1% were used for diet self-monitoring, and 48.7% were used for physical activity self-monitoring. Similarly, 58.1% were capable of tracking other health data, and 49.6% had the ability to enhance medication adherence. Only 3.4% could transform the smartphone into a medical device for the measurement of BP. There were no differences in app features between the two smartphone platforms. Android apps, which were capable of both physical activity self-monitoring (odds ratio, 6.31; P