Fact checked byRichard Smith

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November 14, 2023
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Review: Menopause apps need osteoporosis content, expert insight and simplicity

Fact checked byRichard Smith
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Key takeaways:

  • Fifty-seven percent of reviewed smartphone apps had educational osteoporosis content.
  • Menopause app readability was complex and best understood by university graduates vs. those with less education.

Current menopause smartphone apps require more information on osteoporosis, expert input and better quality, functionality and simplicity of use and understanding for the general public, researchers reported.

Menopause significantly increases the risk for developing osteoporosis. Because of this, menopause smartphone apps should contain information on osteoporosis and provide an efficient way to manage, track and understand menopause, according to Deborah Paripoorani, MS, senior clinical research nurse for the EMERGING Research Team at the Manchester Royal Infirmary, U.K., and colleagues.

Study key takeaways
Data derived from Paripoorani D, et al. BMC Womens Health. 2023;doi:10.1186/s12905-023-02612-9.

Paripoorani and colleagues conducted a systematic review, published in BMC Women’s Health, of 28 English-language smartphone apps focusing on menopause from the U.K. Apple and Google Play stores. Researchers evaluated the quality and functionality of each app using the Mobile App Rating Scale and IMS Institute for Healthcare Informatics functionality score and assessed whether the app had osteoporosis content or not.

Overall, 64% of reviewed apps aimed to educate their users and 87% were journals wherein the users kept a record of menopause-related feelings and symptoms. Three of the apps were designed to calculate risk, three were designed for community interaction, one shared menopause-related news and one was designed to manage menopause symptoms via hypnotherapy.

Researchers noted that more than half (57%) of the menopause apps included educational osteoporosis content. This content usually included a definition of osteoporosis, what it is, the higher risk one holds during menopause, ways to prevent osteoporosis, lifestyle changes, and the importance of supplements, hormone replacement, building up bone strength and strength training.

In addition, the readability of the apps, as assessed through Flesch-Kincaid metrics, was complex and best understood by university graduates vs. the general public. The average functionality score of all reviewed apps was 4.57 out of 11, and the most common functions were to inform (93%) and record and collect data (61%). The average quality score was 3.1 out of 5, with an average score of 2.98 for engagement, 3.3 for functionality, 3.1 for aesthetics and 3 for information.

“The readability of the apps needs to be simple for the general public to understand the content better. Additionally, collaboration with medical experts, user-centered design approaches and formal trials are required to ensure that content is appropriate and to test their usability and acceptability,” the researchers wrote. “This will help to ensure that there are reliable and good quality apps in the market to support healthy aging.”