Smartphone apps to help prevent adolescent health problems for healthcare professionals: Systematic search and quality assessment (Preprint)

BACKGROUND Healthcare professionals must consider multiple dimensions of prevention when consulting with adolescents. Identifying risky behaviors early in adolescence is crucial for reducing both morbidity and mortality. Geneal practitioners are eager to incorporate digital tools for prevention during their consultations with adolescents. The relevance of these digital tools is not always established or known. Primary care professionals need help in choosing relevant m-health tools. OBJECTIVE Identify relevant and useful digital apps to help primary care professionals detect at-risk adolescents across all recommended areas of prevention, (orthopedics, mental health, substance abuse, risk behaviors, sexual health, vaccinations, social relationships, nutrition) METHODS A systematic review of smartphone apps with an analysis of content quality was carried out by 4 researchers using PRISMA checklist. The App Store* and Google Play Store* platforms were surveyed. The inclusion criteria were: free of charge, date of last update, availability in French or English, relevance of the preventive approach to adolescents, and scientific validation. 4 healthcare professionals assessed the applications: 2 selected applications relevant to healthcare professionals, then 3 analysed these applications using the French version of the Mobile App Rating Scale (MARS-F). RESULTS 976 applications were identified, 49 of which had disappeared from the platforms prior to analysis. 9 applications were retained. 7 (0.72%) were included after evaluation using the MARS-F: 1 application on sleep, 1 on mental health and 5 on sexual health (including 3 on contraception only). The mean MARS-F inter-rater score was between 2.5/5 and 3.8/5. CONCLUSIONS No similar studies have been identified in the literature that specifically focus on apps aimed at supporting healthcare professionals in delivering preventive care to adolescents. Of the 8 areas of prevention identified as relevant for adolescents, only 3 have been the subject of apps validated by our method (5 in sexual health). The apps are therefore unable to help healthcare professionals in their overall preventive work with adolescents. Such a review should be conducted systematically prior to the development of any new tool, in order to prevent duplication and to channel creative efforts toward truly innovative digital solutions. A thorough analysis of relevant websites to recommend is also essential, as it complements the use of applications designed for healthcare professionals. CLINICALTRIAL no