Mobile application (app) use is increasingly becoming an essential part of our daily lives. Due to their significant usefulness, people rely on them to perform multiple tasks seamlessly in almost all aspects of everyday life. Similarly, there has been immense progress in artificial intelligence (AI) technology, especially deep learning, computer vision, natural language processing, and robotics. These technologies are now actively being implemented in smartphone apps and healthcare, providing multiple healthcare services. However, several factors affect the usefulness of mobile healthcare apps, and usability is an important one. There are various healthcare apps developed for each specific task, and the success of these apps depends on their performance. This study presents a systematic review of the existing apps and discusses their usability attributes. It highlights the usability models, outlines, and guidelines proposed in previous research for designing apps with improved usability characteristics. Thirty-nine research articles were reviewed and examined to identify the usability attributes, framework, and app design conducted. The results showed that satisfaction, efficiency, and learnability are the most important usability attributes to consider when designing eHealth mobile apps. Surprisingly, other significant attributes for healthcare apps, such as privacy and security, were not among the most indicated attributes in the studies.
Hypertension is a chronic condition caused by a poor lifestyle that affects patients’ lives. Adherence to self-management programs increases hypertension self-monitoring, and allows greater prevention and disease management. Patient compliance with hypertension self-management is low in general; therefore, mobile health applications (mHealth-Apps) are becoming a daily necessity and provide opportunities to improve the prevention and treatment of chronic diseases, including hypertension. This research aims to explore Saudi individuals’ perspectives and needs regarding designing a hypertension management mobile app to be used by hypertension patients to better manage their illnesses. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 21 Saudi participants to explore their perspectives and views about the needs and requirements in designing a hypertension mobile technology solution, as well as usability and culture in the Saudi context. The study used NVivo to analyze data and divided the themes into four main themes: the app’s perceived health benefits, features and usability, suggestions for the app’s content, and security and privacy. The results showed that there are many suggestions for improvements in mobile health apps that developers should take into consideration when designing apps. The mobile health apps should include physical activity tracking, related diet information, and reminders, which are promising, and could increase adherence to healthy lifestyles and consequently improve the self-management of hypertension patients. Mobile health apps provide opportunities to improve hypertension patients’ self-management and self-monitoring. However, this study asserts that mobile health apps should not share users’ data, and that adequate privacy disclosures should be implemented.
(1) Background: The prevalence of uncontrolled hypertension is rising all across the world, making it a concern for public health. The usage of mobile health applications has resulted in a number of positive outcomes for the management and control of hypertension. (2) Objective: The study’s primary goal is to explain the steps to create a hypertension application (app) that considers cultural and social standards in Saudi Arabia, motivational features, and the needs of male and female Saudi citizens. (3) Methods: This study reports the emerged features and content needed to be adapted or developed in health apps for hypertension patients during an interactive qualitative analysis focus group activity with (n = 5) experts from the Saudi Ministry of Health. A gap analysis was conducted to develop an app based on a deep understanding of user needs with a patient-centred approach. (4) Results: Based on the participant’s reviews in this study, the app was easy to use and can help Saudi patients to control their hypertension, the design was interactive, motivational features are user-friendly, and there is a need to consider other platforms such as Android and Blackberry in a future version. (5) Conclusions: Mobile health apps can help Saudis change their unhealthy lifestyles. Target users, usability, motivational features, and social and cultural standards must be considered to meet the app’s aim.
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