It’s hard to believe that there were no health apps over a decade ago and now new apps are being created everyday, with thousands being created every year. When researching diabetes-tracking applications for our project, I searched diabetes in the iTunes App store and I was given 968 results. When faced with so many choices, we often become overwhelmed and don’t make smart decisions. Barry Schwartz, author of the “Paradox of Choice” summarizes the risk that comes with too many choices by saying:
“When people have no choice, life is almost unbearable. As the number of available choices increases…the autonomy, control, and liberation this variety brings are powerful and positive. But as the number of choices keeps growing, negative aspects of having a multitude of options begin to appear. As the number of choices grows further, the negatives escalate until we become overloaded. At this point, choice no longer liberates, but debilitates.”
source: trulyheal.com
When making a decision on which app to download, we end up relying on information given to us on app reviews or by the price of the app and while this information is useful, it can often be misleading. While an app might be expensive, it perhaps would better suit the users needs than the free app. And while one app works for someone else, every patient has different treatment plans and goals. In the worst scenario, the user becomes so overwhelmed that they don’t end up downloading an app at all. Here are some tips for making a informed decision when choosing an app:
- Ask your doctor- Although not all physicians will know of useful applications, a physician that is familiar with treating patients with diabetes will probably have heard positive reviews of certain apps. Also, since your physician is familiar with your treatment plan, they will be better able to recommend an app suited to you then some random guest review on iTunes. Also, as the use of health apps becomes more common, physicians are becoming more aware of the variety of apps out there. One diabetes treatment app (BlueStar) even requires a prescription from your doctor!
- Don’t solely focus on price- While it is often our natural inclination to download the free app, the one that costs $1.99 might be ten times better. This isn’t to say that price is correlated with quality of app, just try to focus on the features of the app instead of the price (as long as the price is reasonable).
- Focus on the features most important to you- We can be tempted to download an app that offers the most features, but this type of app is often hard to navigate and confusing. Depending on your condition, choose the top three features you want in an app. For example, some diabetes patients want an extensive nutrition tracking feature while others are not interested in this feature. Once you narrow down your priority features, choosing an app will become easier.
Even though making a choice may be difficult, most of the health apps on the market will enable you to take better control of your health and will end up making it easier to manage your condition.