What makes a mobile app successful in supporting health behaviour change?

Fitzgerald, Martin; McClelland, Tracy

doi:10.1177/0017896916681179

Cited by 65 publications

(68 citation statements)

References 44 publications

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“…In order for a health app to be successfully adopted and regularly used, it has to be feasible or usable by an individual as part of their daily routine or in relation to a particular behavior or activity that they wish to change [23]. Adolescents in our study frequently use their mobile technology for recreational purposes and mentioned that using their devices to self-manage their asthma could be easily incorporated within their usual daily routines.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Adolescent Preferences and Design Recommendations for an Asthma Self-Management App: Mixed-Methods Study

Roberts¹,

Sage²,

Geryk³

et al. 2018

JMIR Formativ Res

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BackgroundApproximately 10% of adolescents in the United States have asthma. Adolescents widely use apps on mobile phones and tablet technology for social networking and gaming purposes. Given the increase in recreational app use among adolescents, leveraging apps to support adolescent asthma disease management seems warranted. However, little empirical research has influenced asthma app development; adolescent users are seldom involved in the app design process.ObjectiveThe aim of this mixed-methods study was to assess adolescent preferences and design recommendations for an asthma self-management app.MethodsA total of 20 adolescents with persistent asthma (aged 12-16 years) provided feedback on two asthma self-management apps during in-person semistructured interviews following their regularly scheduled asthma clinic visit and via telephone 1 week later. Interviews were audiorecorded, transcribed verbatim, analyzed using SPSS v24, and coded thematically using MAXQDA 11.ResultsRegarding esthetics, app layout and perceived visual simplicity were important to facilitate initial app use. Adolescents were more likely to continually engage with apps that were deemed useful and met their informational needs. Adolescents also desired app features that fit within their existing paradigm or schema and included familiar components (eg, medication alerts that appear and sound like FaceTime notifications and games modeled after Quiz Up and Minecraft), as well as the ability to customize app components. They also suggested that apps include other features, such as an air quality tracker and voice command.ConclusionsAdolescents desire specific app characteristics including customization and tailoring to meet their asthma informational needs. Involving adolescents in early stages of app development is likely to result in an asthma app that meets their self-management needs and design preferences and ultimately the adoption and maintenance of positive asthma self-management behaviors.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Adolescent Preferences and Design Recommendations for an Asthma Self-Management App: Mixed-Methods Study

Roberts¹,

Sage²,

Geryk³

et al. 2018

JMIR Formativ Res

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…[27] Adolescents in our study frequently use their mobile technology for recreational purposes and mentioned that using their devices to selfmanage their asthma could be easily incorporated within their usual daily routines. Additionally, research shows that linking medication-taking with established routines may enhance health outcomes, and thus an app that supports medication-taking and other self-management features that can be easily incorporated into their daily routine has the potential to improve health outcomes and lead to better overall asthma self-management.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 90%

“…It is important that app developers take into consideration both adolescent feedback and evidence and theory-based app components to ensure the development of apps that meet end-user needs and that are effective and well-accepted apps that lead to behavior change. [27] …”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Adolescent Preferences and Design Recommendations for an Asthma Self-Management App: Mixed-Methods Study (Preprint)

Roberts¹,

Sage²,

Geryk³

et al. 2018

Preprint

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Background: Approximately 10% of adolescents in the United States have asthma. Adolescents widely use applications (apps) on mobile phones and tablet technology for social networking and gaming purposes. Given the increase in recreational app use among adolescents, leveraging apps to support adolescent asthma disease management seems warranted. However, little empirical research has influenced asthma app development; adolescent users are seldom involved in the app design process, including identifying components that meet their needs.Objective: The aim of this mixed-methods study was to assess adolescent preferences and design recommendations for an asthma self-management app.Methods: Twenty adolescents with persistent asthma (aged 12-16) provided feedback on two asthma self-management apps during in person semi-structured interviews following their regularly scheduled asthma clinic visit and via telephone 1-week later. Interviews were audiorecorded, transcribed verbatim, and analyzed using SPSS v24 and coded thematically using MAXQDA 11.Results: Regarding aesthetics, app layout and perceived visual simplicity were important to facilitate initial app use. Adolescents were more likely to continually engage with apps that were deemed useful and met their informational needs. Adolescents also desired app features that fit within their existing paradigm/schema and included familiar components (e.g. medication alerts that appear and sound like Facetime notifications and games modeled after Quiz Up and Minecraft) as well as the ability to customize app components. They also suggested that apps include other features such as an air quality tracker and voice command. Conclusions:Involving adolescents in the early stages of app development is likely to result in an asthma app that meets their self-management needs and design preferences. This may lead to increased user engagement and ultimately the adoption and maintenance of positive asthma selfmanagement behaviors.

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“…Consideration of our findings in their totality suggests that the success of attempts to regulate smartphone use through the adoption of digital wellbeing applications depends upon a certain level of motivation and commitment by the user, and that these factors are often dictated by personal characteristics. Much like applications which track and support other forms of health and wellbeing improvement (e.g., fitness, meditation, diet etc., Fitzgerald & McClelland, 2017), the successful integration of digital wellbeing applications seems to occur among students that are, firstly, mindful of the relationship between their behaviour and their wellbeing and, secondly, motivated to perform optimally in the pursuit of personal goals. Specifically, such individuals have explicitly considered the place of a smartphone in their lives and are intentional about achieving a balance between the benefits and drawbacks they associate with use of their device.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Digital Wellbeing Applications: Adoption, Use and Perceived Effects

Parry¹,

Roux²,

Morton³

et al. 2020

Preprint

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Increasingly, mobile applications enable people to monitor and regulate their smartphone use inthe support of digital wellbeing. Herein we report a mixed-methods study involving the collection of both quantitative and qualitative data from a student sample conducted with the aim of investigating, firstly, the adoption of applications designed to support digital wellbeing, secondly, the factors that influence the continued use of such applications and, thirdly, the effects users perceive these applications to have on their digital wellbeing. The outcomes of this study highlight the importance of individual motivations and the need to understand digital wellbeing as more than simply the use of an application but, rather, a subjective consideration of the place of digital media in an individual’s life. The present study provides a rich descriptive account of the temporal variability, person-specificity, and device-contingent nature of digital wellbeing.

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What makes a mobile app successful in supporting health behaviour change?

Abstract: Introduction: Health promotion apps designed to support and reinforce health behaviours or to

Cited by 65 publications

References 44 publications

Adolescent Preferences and Design Recommendations for an Asthma Self-Management App: Mixed-Methods Study

Adolescent Preferences and Design Recommendations for an Asthma Self-Management App: Mixed-Methods Study

Adolescent Preferences and Design Recommendations for an Asthma Self-Management App: Mixed-Methods Study (Preprint)

Digital Wellbeing Applications: Adoption, Use and Perceived Effects

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