Objective: To evaluate feasibility, usability, acceptability, adherence, and clinical impact of smartphone applications for self-management in Parkinson’s disease (PD).

Background: Mobile health technologies may support remote symptom monitoring, medication adherence, and patient empowerment in PD. While promising, evidence regarding feasibility, usability, and clinical benefit remains heterogeneous.

Method: MEDLINE and Scopus were searched for studies published in the last 10 years (until Q3 2025) using PICOT-aligned terms. Eligible studies included quantitative research on PD patients using smartphone applications for patient-reported outcomes (PROs), medication adherence, or self-management. Studies focused solely on wearables for symptom tracking, rehabilitation interventions, or non-PD populations were excluded. Two reviewers screened 939 records; 18 studies met inclusion criteria. Study selection is shown in the PRISMA diagram.

Results: The eighteen (18) studies included feasibility trials, usability assessments, observational studies, randomized/quasi-experimental trials, and systematic reviews. Early studies showed that simple medication reminders were well accepted and improved adherence [1, 3]. Large-scale research confirmed smartphone-based PD data collection was feasible, though engagement declined over time [2]. Usability studies reported high patient satisfaction, especially with user-centered design for educational, self-management, or symptom-tracking apps [5, 7, 16, 17]. Observational and pilot studies indicated that apps supporting symptom monitoring, medication management, and clinician communication were practical in daily life and improved self-management and quality of life [4, 6, 8–11, 14, 15, 18]. Systematic reviews confirmed potential benefits of mobile apps for medication adherence across chronic diseases, including PD [12, 13]. Overall, apps combining were feasible, acceptable, and clinically promising, though most studies had small samples, short follow-up, and variable long-term engagement.

Conclusion: Mobile applications hold strong potential to support PRO-based symptom monitoring, medication adherence, and self-management in PD. Successful apps should combine intuitive PRO reporting, medication reminders, educational resources, patient empowerment features, and clinical integration.

PRISMA Diagram

References: 1. Keränen, T., & Liikkanen, S. (2013). Medication reminder service for mobile phones: an open feasibility study in patients with Parkinson’s disease. Telemedicine and e-Health, 19(11), 888-890.
2. Bot, B. M., Suver, C., Neto, E. C., Kellen, M., Klein, A., Bare, C., … & Trister, A. D. (2016). The mPower study, Parkinson disease mobile data collected using ResearchKit. Scientific data, 3(1), 160011.
3. Lakshminarayana, R., Wang, D., Burn, D., Chaudhuri, K. R., Galtrey, C., Guzman, N. V., … & Williams, A. (2017). Using a smartphone-based self-management platform to support medication adherence and clinical consultation in Parkinson’s disease. NPJ Parkinson’s disease, 3(1), 2.
4. Weizenbaum, E. L., Fulford, D., Torous, J., Pinsky, E., Kolachalama, V. B., & Cronin-Golomb, A. (2022). Smartphone-based neuropsychological assessment in Parkinson’s disease: feasibility, validity, and contextually driven variability in cognition. Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society, 28(4), 401-413.
5. Pereira, N. R. R., Celeste, L. C., de Sales, A. B., Mendes, F. F., & Furia, C. L. B. (2023). Usability study of a smartphone app entitled: Living with Parkinson’s disease. Heliyon, 9(7).
6. Bouça-Machado, R., Pona-Ferreira, F., Leitão, M., Clemente, A., Vila-Viçosa, D., Kauppila, L. A., … & Ferreira, J. J. (2021). Feasibility of a mobile-based system for unsupervised monitoring in Parkinson’s disease. Sensors, 21(15), 4972.
7. Wales, J., Moore, J., Naisby, J., Ratcliffe, N., Barry, G., Amjad, A., … & Morris, R. (2024). Coproduction and usability of a smartphone app for falls reporting in Parkinson disease. Physical therapy, 104(2), pzad076.
8. Tang, Y., Liang, X., Shen, B., Wang, J., Bloem, B. R., Wu, J., & Wang, J. (2023). Heath management app use in Parkinson’s disease and quality of life during the COVID-19 pandemic. Communications Medicine, 3(1), 23.
9. Xu, Z., Jin, L., Chen, W., Hu, T., Li, S., Liang, X., … & Wu, D. (2024). Using a smartphone-based self-management platform to study sex differences in Parkinson’s disease: multicenter, cross-sectional pilot study. BMC Medical Informatics and Decision Making, 24(1), 176.
10. Heijmans, M., Habets, J. G., Herff, C., Aarts, J., Stevens, A., Kuijf, M. L., & Kubben, P. L. (2019). Monitoring Parkinson’s disease symptoms during daily life: a feasibility study. npj Parkinson’s Disease, 5(1), 21.
11. Fay-Karmon, T., Galor, N., Heimler, B., Zilka, A., Bartsch, R. P., Plotnik, M., & Hassin-Baer, S. (2024). Home-based monitoring of persons with advanced Parkinson’s disease using smartwatch-smartphone technology. Scientific Reports, 14(1), 9.
12. Lanke, V., Trimm, K., Habib, B., & Tamblyn, R. (2025). Evaluating the effectiveness of mobile apps on medication adherence for chronic conditions: Systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 27, e60822.
13. Armitage, L. C., Kassavou, A., & Sutton, S. (2020). Do mobile device apps designed to support medication adherence demonstrate efficacy? A systematic review of randomised controlled trials, with meta-analysis. BMJ open, 10(1), e032045.
14. Hu, J., Yuan, D. Z., Zhao, Q. Y., Wang, X. F., Zhang, X. T., Jiang, Q. H., … & Li, J. F. (2020). Acceptability and practicability of self-management for patients with Parkinson’s disease based on smartphone applications in China. BMC Medical Informatics and Decision Making, 20(1), 183.
15. Lee, J., Yoo, S., Kim, Y., Kim, E., Park, H., Sohn, Y. H., … & Yoo, J. H. (2025). Effect of the Yon PD app on the management of self-care in people with Parkinson disease: randomized controlled trial. Journal of medical Internet research, 27, e62822.
16. Mascheroni, A., Choe, E. K., Luo, Y., Marazza, M., Ferlito, C., Caverzasio, S., … & Ratti, P. L. (2021). The SleepFit tablet application for home-based clinical data collection in Parkinson disease: user-centric development and usability study. JMIR mHealth and uHealth, 9(6), e16304.
17. Lee, J., Suh, Y., Kim, E., Yoo, S., & Kim, Y. (2024). A Mobile App for Comprehensive Symptom Management in People With Parkinson’s Disease: A Pilot Usability Study. CIN: Computers, Informatics, Nursing, 42(4), 289-297.
18. Khachian, A., Zeighami, K., Khoubbin Khoshnazar, T. A., & Haghani, H. (2023). The Effectiveness of Self-management Education Based on the Mobile Application on the Quality of Life of People with Parkinson’s Disease. Middle East Journal of Rehabilitation and Health Studies, 10(2).

« Back to 2026 International Congress

MDS Abstracts - https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/the-potential-of-mobile-applications-to-enhance-self-management-in-parkinsons-disease-a-systematic-review/