Prescribing Smartphone Apps for Physical Activity Promotion in Primary Care: Modeling Study of Health Gain and Cost Savings.

Publisher: JMIR Publications Country of Publication: Canada NLM ID: 100959882 Publication Model: Electronic Cited Medium: Internet ISSN: 1438-8871 (Electronic) Linking ISSN: 14388871 NLM ISO Abbreviation: J Med Internet Res Subsets: MEDLINE

Publication: <2011- > : Toronto : JMIR Publications
Original Publication: [Pittsburgh, PA? : s.n., 1999-

Mobile Applications*; Cost Savings ; Cost-Benefit Analysis ; Exercise ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Primary Health Care ; Quality-Adjusted Life Years

Background: Inadequate physical activity is a substantial cause of health loss worldwide, and this loss is attributable to diseases such as coronary heart disease, diabetes, stroke, and certain forms of cancer.
Objective: This study aims to assess the potential impact of the prescription of smartphone apps in primary care settings on physical activity levels, health gains (in quality-adjusted life years [QALYs]), and health system costs in New Zealand (NZ).
Methods: A proportional multistate lifetable model was used to estimate the change in physical activity levels and predict the resultant health gains in QALYs and health system costs over the remaining life span of the NZ population alive in 2011 at a 3% discount rate.
Results: The modeled intervention resulted in an estimated 430 QALYs gained (95% uncertainty interval 320-550), with net cost savings of 2011 NZ $2.2 million (2011 US $1.5 million) over the remaining life span of the 2011 NZ population. On a per capita basis, QALY gains were generally larger in women than in men and larger in Māori than in non-Māori. The health impact and cost-effectiveness of the intervention were highly sensitive to assumptions on intervention uptake and decay. For example, the scenario analysis with the largest benefits, which assumed a 5-year maintenance of additional physical activity levels, delivered 1750 QALYs and 2011 NZ $22.5 million (2011 US $15.1 million) in cost savings.
Conclusions: The prescription of smartphone apps for promoting physical activity in primary care settings is likely to generate modest health gains and cost savings at the population level in this high-income country. Such gains may increase with ongoing improvements in app design and increased health worker promotion of the apps to patients.
(©Leah Grout, Kendra Telfer, Nick Wilson, Christine Cleghorn, Anja Mizdrak. Originally published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research (https://www.jmir.org), 20.12.2021.)

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Keywords: mHealth; mobile health; mobile phone; modeling; physical activity; primary care; smartphone apps

Date Created: 20211221 Date Completed: 20211227 Latest Revision: 20220218

20221213

PMC8726034

10.2196/31702

34931993