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Systematic quality evaluation of mobile health applications using selenium web scraping approach
 
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1
Department of Community Medicine & Family Medicine, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh, India
 
2
Implementation Research, Indian Council of Medical Research, Ansari Nagar, New Delhi, India
 
3
Civil Registration and Vital Statistics, Global Health Advocacy Incubator (GHAI), Washington, USA
 
4
Public health, University of Memphis School of Public Health, Memphis, United States
 
5
Department of Dentistry,, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh, India
 
These authors had equal contribution to this work
 
 
Submission date: 2025-05-04
 
 
Final revision date: 2025-07-12
 
 
Acceptance date: 2025-07-25
 
 
Online publication date: 2025-08-05
 
 
Corresponding author
U Venkatesh   

Department of Community Medicine & Family Medicine,, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh, 273008, India, India
 
 
 
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ABSTRACT
Background: Mobile health applications have emerged as powerful tools for improving public health, but their rapid proliferation raises concerns regarding quality, effectiveness, and security. T Objective: This study aimed to systematically evaluate the quality of health applications on the Google Play Store in India, focusing on physical, mental, and social health domains. Material and methods: Python and Selenium-based web scraping approach was used to extracted data available from the Indian version of Google Play Store using domain-specific keywords. Applications were screened based on preset criteria. The Mobile App Development and Assessment Guide (MAG) was used to evaluate the application quality across eight domains. Kruskal Wallis test and partial least squares regression analysis was used for analysis. Results: From 866 applications, 322 met eligibility criteria (182 physical, 84 mental, 56 social health). Commercial organizations dominated development. Social health applications demonstrated higher download volumes and superior quality across multiple MAG domains, with higher overall scores (35.18 ± 12.05) compared to physical (26.95 ± 11.27) and mental health applications (26.25 ±1 1.62). Quality metrics influenced user ratings differently across health domains, with weak correlation between MAG scores and ratings for physical health applications. Conclusions: The study reveals significant variability in mHealth application quality, with concerning deficiencies in privacy and security. Findings highlight the need for enhanced regulatory oversight and quality standards in India's evolving digital health ecosystem.
FUNDING
This study was supported by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) under the Extramural Research Grant (Project No: Adhoc/191/2022/ SBHSR.), titled "Evaluating the impact of digital Health Interventions to enhance physical and Mental wellbeing of individuals living in the urban poor settings of Gorakhpur”.
eISSN:2545-1898
ISSN:0033-2100
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