Effectiveness and Adherence to Physical Activity and Physical Exercise mHealth Interventions: A Systematic Review

Abstract

The inclusion of physical activity and physical exercise prescription in the field of mHealth offers a new field of research in an increasingly digitized society. In this context, it is necessary to assess the applicability, reliability and adequacy of the control variables and assessment, taking into account the criteria of individualization and specificity of the pathology. This systematic review was aimed to study the adherence and effectiveness of physical activity or physical exercise mHealth programs depending on its variables, communication channels and technological resources for randomized clinical trials performed from 2011 to 2021. A literature research was carried out using the Pubmed, Science Direct, Scopus, Web of Science and Google Scholar platforms following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. Out of 865 initial results, 13 clinical studies were included in the analysis, related to cardiac (n = 4), oncological (n = 3), pulmonary n = 1), Parkinson’s (n = 1) diseases, as well as the promotion of PA in sedentary people (n = 2), general population (n = 1) and pregnant women (n = 1). In relation to the effectiveness of the intervention, 9 of the final results (70%) showed differences of improvement in the experimental group. Workload is usually quantified with non-specific variables, with daily steps and the minutes of physical activity or exercise per day being the most common ones. The most used technological resources were specific applications and the FitBit® wristband. Main communication channels were SMS and the social network Facebook. However, there were no interventions specifically designed to meet technological capabilities of their target population. mHealth interventions had a greater effectiveness and adherence to prescription programs than in those prescribed in person or without technological support.