A Systematic and Comparative Review of Behavior Change Strategies in Stress Management Apps: Opportunities for Improvement

Alhasani, Mona; Mulchandani, Dinesh; Oyebode, Oladapo; Baghaei, Nilufar; Orji, Rita

doi:10.3389/fpubh.2022.777567

Cited by 13 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 105 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…However, Ferdous and colleagues [ 28 ] found that patterns of smartphone app usage were correlated with stress levels in work environments and thus recommended that these could be used to measure stress at work. Alhasani et al [ 29 ] presented the possibility of an app that creates behavioral data, based on self-report and sensors, that can be analyzed in real-time to predict users’ needs and provide tailored interventions for the user. In the case of rural health workforce capability, if a health professional’s heart rate variability indicates high stress levels derived from a sensor, the app can recommend a predetermined meditation session.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Persuasive Design Techniques and App Design Recommendations to Improve Health Workforce Capability in Rural Health Professionals: What Do Users Want and How Does an App Help?

Pit¹,

Ramsden²,

Tan³

et al. 2022

JMIR Hum Factors

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background Health professionals’ perceptions of persuasive design techniques for use in technological solutions to improve health workforce capability have not been previously explored. Objective This study aims to explore rural health professionals’ perceptions of health workforce capability and persuasive design techniques; and translate these into recommendations for designing a health workforce capability app to increase their impact and usefulness. Methods Qualitative interviews with 13 rural health professionals were conducted. Subsequently, 32 persuasive techniques were used as a framework to deductively analyze the data. Persuasive design technique domains were Primary Task Support, Dialog Support, System Credibility Support, Social Support, and Cialdini’s Principles of Persuasion. Results Persuasive design techniques can be applied across the factors that influence health workforce capability including health and personal qualities; competencies and skills; values, attitudes, and motivation; and factors that operate outside of work and at the team, organizational, and labor market levels. The majority of the 32 persuasive design techniques were reflected in the data from the interviews and led to recommendations as to how these could be translated into practice, with the exception of scarcity. Many suggestions and persuasive design techniques link back to the need for tailored and localized solutions such as the need for country-specific–based evidence, the wish for localized communities of practice, learning from other rural health professionals, and referral pathways to other clinicians. Participants identified how persuasive design techniques can optimize the user experience to help meet rural health professionals needs for more efficient systems to improve patient access to care, quality care, and to enable working in interprofessional team-based care. Social inclusion plays a vital role for health professionals, indicating the importance of the Social Support domain of persuasive techniques. Overall, health professionals were open to self-monitoring of their work performance and some professionals used wearables to monitor their health. Conclusions Rural health professionals’ perceptions of health workforce capability informed which persuasive design techniques can be used to optimize the user experience of an app. These were translated into recommendations for designing a health workforce capability app to increase likelihood of adoption. This study has also contributed to the further validation of the Persuasive Systems Design model through empirically aligning elements of the model to increase persuasive system content and functionality with real-world applied data, in this case the health workforce capability of rural health professionals. Our findings confirm that these techniques can be used to develop a future prototype of an app that may assist health professionals in improving or maintaining their health workforce capability which in turn may increase recruitment and retention in rural areas. Health professionals need to be central during the design phase. Interventions are needed to provide a supportive environment to rural and remote health professionals to increase their rural health workforce capability.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Persuasive Design Techniques and App Design Recommendations to Improve Health Workforce Capability in Rural Health Professionals: What Do Users Want and How Does an App Help?

Pit¹,

Ramsden²,

Tan³

et al. 2022

JMIR Hum Factors

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Thus, a co-design approach to these tools with students should be emphasized to better target their needs and increase their adherence to the developed stress management programs (Amanvermez et al, 2021). Furthermore, to maintain user engagement and to produce this change that would lead to better management of their stress, the interface of these devices must be visually attractive and easy to use, organized, and free of ambiguous features (Oyebode et al, 2020;Alhasani et al, 2022).…”

Section: Coping Strategies Used By the Female Students In The Academi...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Exploring female students' perceptions of the use of digital technologies in managing academic stress

Lukenga,

Billonnet,

Gaugue

et al. 2023

Front. Psychol.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

ObjectiveThe purpose of this research is to explore the perceptions of female students regarding the implementation of digital technologies for academic stress management. We aim to determine if the contribution of these technologies could offer to female students a better management of the stress related to their studies and thus, a better deployment of strategies to cope with academic difficulties.MethodA qualitative study using the focus group methodology was conducted. Our inductive and exploratory approach allowed us to focus on the experience and perception of eleven female students from the University of Mons. The cohort was divided into two groups according to their score on the Perceived Stress Scale-10.ResultsThe data collected was analyzed using the thematic analysis of which allowed us to identify fourteen sub-themes divided into three axes: coping strategies used to manage academic stress, students' needs to improve their management of academic stress, and the implementation of technology for managing academic stress.ConclusionOur results show that the issues present in the academic context lead students to use various coping strategies, some of which are harmful to their physical and mental health. The implementation of digital technologies and biofeedback seems to be an approach that could help students adopt more functional coping strategies and alleviate their daily difficulties in managing academic stress.

show abstract

“…Reviews already exist; however, they all focus on specific aspects and some might be outdated. Pre-existing SMA reviews focus on content alone [ 31 , 32 ], content in combination with transparency and functionality [ 33 ], efficacy [ 34 ], gamification elements [ 35 ], persuasive and behavior change strategies [ 36 ], or quality of apps, with a focus exclusively on mindfulness apps [ 37 ]. Regarding content, it was shown that mindfulness and meditation were the most commonly used strategies in the reviewed SMAs (34% to 78% of all apps included these strategies) [ 31 , 33 , 34 ], followed by breathing [ 31 , 33 ] or goal setting [ 34 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Regarding content, it was shown that mindfulness and meditation were the most commonly used strategies in the reviewed SMAs (34% to 78% of all apps included these strategies) [ 31 , 33 , 34 ], followed by breathing [ 31 , 33 ] or goal setting [ 34 ]. Further common strategies were personalization and self-monitoring, while social support strategies were rarely used [ 36 ]. The implementation of gamification elements is relatively scarce (on average 0.5 elements per app) [ 35 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Stress Management Apps: Systematic Search and Multidimensional Assessment of Quality and Characteristics

Paganini,

Meier,

Terhorst

et al. 2023

JMIR Mhealth Uhealth

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background Chronic stress poses risks for physical and mental well-being. Stress management interventions have been shown to be effective, and stress management apps (SMAs) might help to transfer strategies into everyday life. Objective This review aims to provide a comprehensive overview of the quality and characteristics of SMAs to give potential users or health professionals a guideline when searching for SMAs in common app stores. Methods SMAs were identified with a systematic search in the European Google Play Store and Apple App Store. SMAs were screened and checked according to the inclusion criteria. General characteristics and quality were assessed by 2 independent raters using the German Mobile Application Rating Scale (MARS-G). The MARS-G assesses quality (range 1 to 5) on the following four dimensions: (1) engagement, (2) functionality, (3) esthetics, and (4) information. In addition, the theory-based stress management strategies, evidence base, long-term availability, and common characteristics of the 5 top-rated SMAs were assessed and derived. Results Of 2044 identified apps, 121 SMAs were included. Frequently implemented strategies (also in the 5 top-rated SMAs) were psychoeducation, breathing, and mindfulness, as well as the use of monitoring and reminder functions. Of the 121 SMAs, 111 (91.7%) provided a privacy policy, but only 44 (36.4%) required an active confirmation of informed consent. Data sharing with third parties was disclosed in only 14.0% (17/121) of the SMAs. The average quality of the included apps was above the cutoff score of 3.5 (mean 3.59, SD 0.50). The MARS-G dimensions yielded values above this cutoff score (functionality: mean 4.14, SD 0.47; esthetics: mean 3.76, SD 0.73) and below this score (information: mean 3.42, SD 0.46; engagement: mean 3.05, SD 0.78). Most theory-based stress management strategies were regenerative stress management strategies. The evidence base for 9.1% (11/121) of the SMAs could be identified, indicating significant group differences in several variables (eg, stress or depressive symptoms) in favor of SMAs. Moreover, 38.0% (46/121) of the SMAs were no longer available after a 2-year period. Conclusions The moderate information quality, scarce evidence base, constraints in data privacy and security features, and high volatility of SMAs pose challenges for users, health professionals, and researchers. However, owing to the scalability of SMAs and the few but promising results regarding their effectiveness, they have a high potential to reach and help a broad audience. For a holistic stress management approach, SMAs could benefit from a broader repertoire of strategies, such as more instrumental and mental stress management strategies. The common characteristics of SMAs with top-rated quality can be used as guidance for potential users and health professionals, but owing to the high volatility of SMAs, enhanced evaluation frameworks are needed.

show abstract

A Systematic and Comparative Review of Behavior Change Strategies in Stress Management Apps: Opportunities for Improvement

Cited by 13 publications

References 105 publications

Persuasive Design Techniques and App Design Recommendations to Improve Health Workforce Capability in Rural Health Professionals: What Do Users Want and How Does an App Help?

Persuasive Design Techniques and App Design Recommendations to Improve Health Workforce Capability in Rural Health Professionals: What Do Users Want and How Does an App Help?

Exploring female students' perceptions of the use of digital technologies in managing academic stress

Stress Management Apps: Systematic Search and Multidimensional Assessment of Quality and Characteristics

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About