The effects of a 24-week interactive text message-based mobile health intervention for enhancing self-care behaviours of patients with heart failure: A quasi-experimental study.

The study was not randomised: patients were assigned by convenience and matched by age and sex, so differences between groups may reflect selection rather than the app. It included only 100 analysed patients from two urban hospitals in Korea, all aged 40 or older, able to read Korean and use an Android smartphone, and without cognitive impairment, so results may not apply to other settings or patients. Outcomes were self-reported only; the study did not measure objective adherence, physiological parameters, hospital readmission or mortality, and no readmission or mortality events occurred during follow-up. The app bundled several features, including reminders, goal setting, tracking and chatbot messages, so the contribution of any single component cannot be separated. Both groups improved over time, and the authors note the control sites provided intensive usual care and the COVID-19 pandemic may have influenced health behaviours. The chatbot used prewritten questions and responses and did not allow open-ended questions. Ten of 110 recruited patients were lost, which could affect results.

The study was supported by Chung-Ang University research scholarship grants and National Research Foundation of Korea government grants. The authors declared no conflicts of interest.

Do not conclude that this app reduces heart failure hospital readmission or death. The study did not measure those outcomes, and no such events occurred during follow-up. It also tested a combined app with reminders, goal setting, self-monitoring and chatbot messages, so the effect of any single feature cannot be separated.