"Security Is the Most Important Factor When Choosing Digital Health Apps"

Survey of 1,093 Participants Including Physicians and Patients
Led by Professor Shin Jaeyong's Team at Severance

When choosing digital health applications (apps) that assist with health management and disease treatment, both domestic medical professionals and patients showed a strong preference for apps with high security.

A large-scale survey conducted by a research team consisting of Professor Shin Jaeyong, Dr. Lee Junbok, and Research Professor Choi Minji from the Department of Preventive Medicine at Yonsei University College of Medicine, along with Professor Kim Junghyun from Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, revealed that among 1,093 respondents?including 97 physicians, 589 patients with chronic diseases, and 407 members of the general public?'cybersecurity and personal information safety' was cited as the most important factor when selecting a digital health application, according to an announcement on July 7.

Recently, a variety of apps to support personal health management have been launched in Korea. Beyond simple apps, digital therapeutics that have demonstrated efficacy in treating diseases such as insomnia and have received approval from the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety are now being used in medical settings.

The research team investigated which factors users consider most important when choosing a digital health app.

The study provided participants with hypothetical scenarios to determine under what conditions they would choose a product. Regarding health apps, participants were given information on six aspects: ▲the number of published studies demonstrating the app’s effectiveness ▲the frequency of health content delivery such as card news or videos ▲the level of personal data protection and cybersecurity ▲user satisfaction ▲whether the app had received government certification ▲and the monthly usage fee. For each scenario, they had to choose between two apps with different combinations of these six factors, repeating this process 15 times.

The results showed that all three groups?physicians, patients with chronic diseases, and the general public?considered 'cybersecurity and personal information safety' to be the most important factor in app selection. This was followed by the number of published studies proving the app’s effectiveness, user satisfaction, and government certification, in that order. Apps that sent health information too frequently were less preferred.

Patients with chronic diseases preferred apps that had demonstrated effectiveness or received government certification more than the general public did. In addition, physicians were more likely than other groups to prioritize apps with proven effectiveness or high user satisfaction.

Professor Shin Jaeyong explained, "Because health information is sensitive personal data, security is crucial. The fact that physicians, patients with chronic diseases, and the general public all value security, as shown in this study, reflects the unique characteristics of health information."

The research findings were published in the international journal for digital healthcare, npj Digital Medicine.