mHealth for diabetes support: a systematic review of apps available on the Italian market

mHealth is an expanding field of research and experimentation, concerned with the potentialities of mobile applications as tools to enhance patients’ abilities in the management of chronic conditions. We present a systematic review of mHealth applications available on the Italian market and for the Italian speakers in order to assess their reported usability and functions. The review shows that there are rather few products on offer and the ones that are available display weak educational components, do not seem to be based on solid theoretical models of behavior change or decision making, and do not seem to be intended as devices to be integrated in the ecology of the doctor-patient relationship.