Apps in Clinical Research

Apps—software applications that can be installed and run on a computer, tablet, smartphone, or other electronic devices—are changing the landscape of clinical research by opening new avenues for administrating and evaluating interventions. In addition to supporting research operations, the use of apps can facilitate increased patient engagement, efficiencies in research participation and data collection, accelerating the generation of new evidence and its application into clinical practice into practice and into lives of patients via management of their health and disease and decision-making. The use of apps is also changing the paradigm of health data ownership, raising new opportunities for participant empowerment and involvement in clinical research. This chapter outlines the major events leading to today’s app infrastructure, current uses of apps in clinical research, design considerations, and future directions.