AuraLife’s mHealth app designed to measure blood pressure (BP) was one of the top five apps in 2014, even though it was inaccurate most of the time. Following a series of reports, complaints lodged with the U.S. telecommunications regulator and findings showing the app was inaccurate 78% of the time, the app was pulled from the app store. A University of Vermont and Johns Hopkins study revisited earlier data, finding the better the results, the more likely users were to approve of the app and use it again. Conversely, user enjoyment was negatively associated with higher-than-expected blood pressure. Because reassuring app results from an inaccurate BP-measuring app may have improved user experience, the report suggests systematic underreporting of elevated BPs may have been a contributor to the app’s success.
NBHC Engagement