Evaluating Commercially Available Mobile Apps for Depression Self-Management

Clinical depression affects 17.3 million adults in the U.S. However, 37% of these adults receive no treatment, and many symptoms remain unmanaged. Mobile health apps may complement in-person treatment and address barriers to treatment, yet their quality has not been systematically appraised. We conducted a systematic review of apps for depression by searching in three major app stores. Apps were selected using specific inclusion and exclusion criteria. The final apps were downloaded and independently evaluated using the Mobile Application Rating Scale (MARS), IMS Institute for Healthcare Informatics functionality score, and six features specific to depression self-management. Mobile health apps for depression self-management exhibit a wide range of quality, but more than half (74%) of the apps had acceptable quality, with 32% having MARS scores ≥ 4.0 out of 5.0. These high scoring apps indicate that mobile apps have the potential to improve patient self-management, treatment engagement, and mental health outcomes.