Why was this research done?

Apps on smartphones provide a new way to help people manage their health problems. They can be used to receive health information and provide reminders about medications and appointments. They can also be used to monitor blood pressure and glucose levels (for people with diabetes) with alerts about when to call the doctor. The researchers wanted to know if the mHealth app with or without nursing support would improve the quality of life including management of pain in community dwelling older adults. They found that people who used the mHealth app did not report a higher quality of life than people who did not use the mHealth app, but they did have slightly lower chronic pain levels. Concerns about this study include that the size of the study was small, nursing support was only available during office hours, and no information was collected on how easy it was for participants to use the app.