mHealth for the Self-management of Knee Osteoarthritis: Scoping Review

Background: Educating patients on the self-management of knee osteoarthritis (OA) reportedly reduces pain, improves activities of daily living, and even reduces health care costs. Objective: This scoping review will summarize the current evidence on mobile health (mHealth) and smartphone app-based disease self-management for patients with knee OA. Methods: PubMed, Web of Science, the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, and CINAHL were systematically searched in May 2021 using the keywords "knee osteoarthritis," "mobile health," and "self-management." Studies that investigated patients with knee OA based on radiography or clinical diagnosis were included. The following criteria were applied to the mobile phone apps included in the search-derived studies: the ability to (1) record and manage symptoms, (2) provide patient education, and (3) guide and record activities of daily living. Studies eligible for inclusion in this scoping review were interventional trials or observational studies published in English. Results: This scoping review included 8 reports, of which 3 were randomized controlled trials and 1 was a conference abstract. Most studies provided data on the outcomes of pain, physical function, and quality of life. Conclusions: An increasing number of reports are addressing the effectiveness of mHealth in patients with knee OA, and the data suggest that mHealth efficacy is similar to conventional management of health.