scholarly journals Young People�s, Parents�, and Professionals� Views on Required Components of Mobile Apps to Support Self-Management of Juvenile Arthritis: Qualitative Study (Preprint)

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer M Waite-Jones ◽  
Rabiya Majeed-Ariss ◽  
Joanna Smith ◽  
Simon R Stones ◽  
Vanessa Van Rooyen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Social Support ◽  
Young People ◽  
Health Care Professionals ◽  
Mobile Apps ◽  
Developmentally Appropriate ◽  
Mobile App ◽  
Juvenile Arthritis ◽  
Mobile Technologies ◽  
Self Management ◽  
Framework Approach

BACKGROUND There is growing evidence that supporting self-management of Juvenile Arthritis can benefit both patients and professionals. Young people with Juvenile Arthritis and their healthy peers increasingly use mobile technologies to access information and support in day-to-day life. Therefore, a user-led, rigorously developed and evaluated mobile app could be valuable for facilitating young people’s self-management of Juvenile Arthritis. OBJECTIVE The objective of this study was to seek the views of young people with Juvenile Arthritis, their parents or carers, and health care professionals (HCPs) as to what should be included in a mobile app to facilitate young people’s self-management of chronic Juvenile Arthritis. METHODS A qualitative approach was adopted with a purposeful sample of 9 young people aged 10-18 years with Juvenile Arthritis, 8 parents or carers, and 8 HCPs involved in their care. Data were gathered through semi-structured focus group and individual interviews with young people and their parents or carers and HCPs. Interview discussion was facilitated through demonstration of four existing health apps to explore participants’ views on strengths and limitations of these, barriers and facilitators to mobile app use, preferred designs, functionality, levels of interaction, and data sharing arrangements. Data were analyzed using the framework approach. RESULTS Analysis revealed three interlinked, overarching themes: (1) purpose, (2) components and content, and (3) social support. Despite some differences in emphasis on essential content, general agreement was found between young people with Juvenile Arthritis their parents or carers, and professionals that a mobile app to aid self-management would be useful. Underpinning the themes was a prerequisite that young people are enabled to feel a sense of ownership and control of the app, and that it be an interactive, engaging resource that offers developmentally appropriate information and reminders, as well as enabling them to monitor their symptoms and access social support. CONCLUSIONS Findings justify and pave the way for a future feasibility study into the production and preliminary testing of such an app. This would consider issues such as compatibility with existing technologies, costs, age, and cross-gender appeal as well as resource implications.

scholarly journals Opportunities for Mobile App–Based Adherence Support for Children With Tuberculosis in South Africa

10.2196/19154 ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (11) ◽  
pp. e19154
Author(s):  
Rachel M Morse ◽  
Hanlie Myburgh ◽  
David Reubi ◽  
Ava E Archey ◽  
Leletu Busakwe ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Treatment Adherence ◽  
Mobile Apps ◽  
Mobile App ◽  
Tuberculosis Treatment ◽  
Mobile Technologies ◽  
Patient Treatment ◽  
Pilot Studies ◽  
Adherence Support ◽  
Positive Treatment

Tuberculosis is the number one infectious cause of death globally. Young children, generally those younger than 5 years, are at the highest risk of progressing from tuberculosis infection to tuberculosis disease and of developing the most severe forms of tuberculosis. Most current tuberculosis drug formulations have poor acceptability among children and require consistent adherence for prolonged periods of time. These challenges complicate children’s adherence to treatment and caregivers’ daily administration of the drugs. Rapid developments in mobile technologies and apps present opportunities for using widely available technology to support national tuberculosis programs and patient treatment adherence. Pilot studies have demonstrated that mobile apps are a feasible and acceptable means of enhancing children’s treatment adherence for other chronic conditions. Despite this, no mobile apps that aim to promote adherence to tuberculosis treatment have been developed for children. In this paper, we draw on our experiences carrying out research in clinical pediatric tuberculosis studies in South Africa. We present hypothetical scenarios of children’s adherence to tuberculosis medication to suggest priorities for behavioral and educational strategies that a mobile app could incorporate to address some of the adherence support gaps faced by children diagnosed with tuberculosis. We argue that a mobile app has the potential to lessen some of the negative experiences that children associate with taking tuberculosis treatment and to facilitate a more positive treatment adherence experience for children and their caregivers.

scholarly journals Education and Social Support as Key Factors in Osteoarthritis Management Programs: A Scoping Review

Arthritis ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 2018 ◽  
pp. 1-8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shabana Amanda Ali ◽  
Kristina M. Kokorelias ◽  
Joy C. MacDermid ◽  
Marita Kloseck
Keyword(s):  
Social Support ◽  
Health Care ◽  
Scoping Review ◽  
Health Care Professionals ◽  
Management Strategies ◽  
Self Management ◽  
Cochrane Library ◽  
Group Settings ◽  
Management Interventions ◽  
Positive Social Interaction

Systematic reviews of self-management programs for osteoarthritis suggest minimal evidence of benefit and indicate substantial heterogeneity in interventions. The purpose of this scoping review was to describe the nature of self-management interventions provided to patients with osteoarthritis focusing on the inclusion and type of education and social support components. We searched PsycINFO, EMBASE, MEDLINE, and Cochrane Library databases from 1990 to 2016 to identify studies addressing community-based management strategies for osteoarthritis that included aspects of disease-specific education and ongoing social support. Results are presented as a narrative synthesis to facilitate integration of diverse evidence. Data were extracted from 23 studies that met our inclusion and exclusion criteria, describing complex, multicomponent interventions for osteoarthritis. All studies included education components, and 18 of these were osteoarthritis-specific. Social support was most often offered through peers and health care professionals, but also through exercise trainers/instructors and researchers, and lasted between 5 and 52 weeks. We charted positive social interaction offered by peers in group settings and emotional/informational support offered by health care professionals. Overall, descriptions of self-management provided limited documentation of the rationale or content of the programs. This suggests that more precise definitions of the theoretical underpinnings, components, and mechanisms would be useful for greater insight into best practices for osteoarthritis self-management programs.

scholarly journals Exploration of user�s perspectives and needs and design of a type 1 diabetes management mobile app: mixed-methods study (Preprint)

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yiyu Zhang ◽  
Xia Li ◽  
Shuoming Luo ◽  
Chaoyuan Liu ◽  
Fang Liu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mixed Methods ◽  
Health Care Professionals ◽  
Diabetes Management ◽  
Mobile Apps ◽  
Diabetes Education ◽  
Qualitative Interviews ◽  
Mobile App ◽  
Patient Questionnaires ◽  
App Design ◽  
Doctor Communication

BACKGROUND With the popularity of smart phones, mobile apps have great potential for the management of diabetes, but the effectiveness of current diabetes apps for T1DM is poor. No study has explored the reasons from the user’s perspective. OBJECTIVE To explore the perspectives and needs of T1DM patients and diabetes experts concerning diabetes app and to design a new T1DM management mobile app. METHODS A mixed methods design combining quantitative surveys and qualitative interviews was used to explore user needs and perspectives. Experts were surveyed at two diabetes conferences using paper questionnaires. T1DM patients were surveyed using Sojump on a network. We conducted semi-structured in-depth interviews with adult T1DM patients or parents of child patients who had ever used diabetes apps. The interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed and coded for theme identification. RESULTS The expert response rate was 63.5% (127/200). They thought that the reasons for app invalidity were that patients did not stick to using the app (76.4%, 97/127), little guidance was received from health care professionals (HCPs) (73.2%, 93/127), diabetes education knowledge was unsystematic (52.8% 67/127) and the app functions were incomplete (44.1%, 56/127). A total of 245 T1DM patient questionnaires were collected, of which 21.2% (52/245) of the respondents had used diabetes apps. The reasons for their reluctance to use an app were limited time (39%, 20/52), complicated operations (25%, 13/52), uselessness (25%, 13/52) and cost (25%, 13/52). Both the experts and patients thought that the most important functions of the app were patient-doctor communication and diabetes diary. Two themes that were useful for app design were identified from the interviews: (1) problems with patients’ diabetes self-management and (2) problems with current apps. Additionally, needs and suggestions for a diabetes app were obtained. CONCLUSIONS Patient-doctor communication is the most important function of a diabetes app. Apps should be integrated with HCPs rather than stand alone. We advocate that doctors follow up with their patients using diabetes app. Our user-centered method explored comprehensively and deeply why the effectiveness of current diabetes apps for T1DM was poor and what T1DM patients needed for a diabetes app, and provided meaningful guidance for app design.

scholarly journals Prescription and Integration of Accredited Mobile Apps in Catalan Health and Social Care: Protocol for the AppSalut Site Design (Preprint)

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Francesc López Seguí ◽  
Carme Pratdepàdua Bufill ◽  
Ariadna Rius Soler ◽  
Marc de San Pedro ◽  
Bernat López Truño ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Data Storage ◽  
Health Care Professionals ◽  
Mobile Apps ◽  
Public Health Practice ◽  
Public Library ◽  
Global Perspective ◽  
Mobile Technologies ◽  
Care Protocol ◽  
Health And Social Care

BACKGROUND The use of new mobile technologies in the health and social welfare sectors is already a reality. The ICT Social Health Foundation, in accordance with the technology strategy of the Catalan government’s Ministry of Health and its Ministry of Labour, Social Affairs and Families, is leading an initiative to create a public library of apps for its AppSalut Site. OBJECTIVE The objective of this paper is to present an account of the design of the project, with a global perspective, applied to the Catalan ecosystem, which can be divided into 3 areas: the framework governing the recommendation and prescription of apps, the subset of interoperability for mobile environments, and the data storage infrastructure. METHODS The security and credibility of the apps included in the catalog is ensured by submitting them to an accreditation process in the public domain that provides users with the guarantee that they are fit for purpose and trustworthy for the management and care of their health, while providing health care professionals with the possibility of recommending the apps in the doctor’s surgery, as well as adding the information generated by the users’ mobile devices to the information systems of the various organizations concerned. RESULTS An examination of the abovementioned areas suggests possibilities for improvements in the future. The experience obtained from the development of this element has shown the heterogeneity of the vocabularies used, as expected, due to the lack of awareness on the part of the developers regarding the need to standardize the information generated by the app, requiring the foundation to take on the role of consultant. CONCLUSIONS The project has evolved in keeping with changes in the technological and social paradigm and responds very satisfactorily to the needs posed to it. It can be seen as a landmark experience in mobile strategies in the fields of health and welfare of any public health system. The experience has shown itself to be feasible in organizational terms, necessary in any attempt to integrate mobile technologies into public health practice, and a global pioneer in the field. INTERNATIONAL REGISTERED REPOR RR1-10.2196/11414

scholarly journals Mobile Health Apps on COVID-19 Launched in the Early Days of the Pandemic: Content Analysis and Review

10.2196/19796 ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (9) ◽  
pp. e19796 ◽  
Author(s):  
Long Chiau Ming ◽  
Noorazrina Untong ◽  
Nur Amalina Aliudin ◽  
Norliza Osili ◽  
Nurolaini Kifli ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Health Care Professionals ◽  
Mobile Apps ◽  
Home Monitoring ◽  
Mobile App ◽  
Inclusion Criteria ◽  
Self Monitoring ◽  
App Store ◽  
Online Consultation ◽  
Basic Features

Background Mobile health (mHealth) app use is a major concern because of the possible dissemination of misinformation that could harm the users. Particularly, it can be difficult for health care professionals to recommend a suitable app for coronavirus disease (COVID-19) education and self-monitoring purposes. Objective This study aims to analyze and evaluate the contents as well as features of COVID-19 mobile apps. The findings are instrumental in helping health care professionals to identify suitable mobile apps for COVID-19 self-monitoring and education. The results of the mobile apps’ assessment could potentially help mobile app developers improve or modify their existing mobile app designs to achieve optimal outcomes. Methods The search for the mHealth apps available in the android-based Play Store and the iOS-based App Store was conducted between April 18 and May 5, 2020. The region of the App Store where we performed the search was the United States, and a virtual private network app was used to locate and access COVID-19 mobile apps from all countries on the Google Play Store. The inclusion criteria were apps that are related to COVID-19 with no restriction in language type. The basic features assessment criteria used for comparison were the requirement for free subscription, internet connection, education or advisory content, size of the app, ability to export data, and automated data entry. The functionality of the apps was assessed according to knowledge (information on COVID-19), tracing or mapping of COVID-19 cases, home monitoring surveillance, online consultation with a health authority, and official apps run by health authorities. Results Of the 223 COVID-19–related mobile apps, only 30 (19.9%) found in the App Store and 28 (44.4%) in the Play Store matched the inclusion criteria. In the basic features assessment, most App Store (10/30, 33.3%) and Play Store (10/28, 35.7%) apps scored 4 out of 7 points. Meanwhile, the outcome of the functionality assessment for most App Store apps (13/30, 43.3%) was a score of 3 compared to android-based apps (10/28, 35.7%), which scored 2 (out of the maximum 5 points). Evaluation of the basic functions showed that 75.0% (n=36) of the 48 included mobile apps do not require a subscription, 56.3% (n=27) provide symptom advice, and 41.7% (n=20) have educational content. In terms of the specific functions, more than half of the included mobile apps are official mobile apps maintained by a health authority for COVID-19 information provision. Around 37.5% (n=18) and 31.3% (n=15) of the mobile apps have tracing or mapping and home monitoring surveillance functions, respectively, with only 17% (n=8) of the mobile apps equipped with an online consultation function. Conclusions Most iOS-based apps incorporate infographic mapping of COVID-19 cases, while most android-based apps incorporate home monitoring surveillance features instead of providing focused educational content on COVID-19. It is important to evaluate the contents and features of COVID-19 mobile apps to guide users in choosing a suitable mobile app based on their requirements.

Do gamified elements affect young people’s use behaviour on consumption-related mobile applications?

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Edmund Wut ◽  
Peggy Ng ◽  
Ka Shing Wilson Leung ◽  
Daisy Lee
Keyword(s):  
Young People ◽  
Mobile Applications ◽  
Mobile Application ◽  
Mobile Apps ◽  
Visual Image ◽  
Mobile App ◽  
Behavioural Intention ◽  
Intention To Use ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Story Element

Purpose This study aims to investigate whether gamified elements affect the use behaviour of young people (between age 12 and 25 years) on consumption-related mobile applications. Design/methodology/approach A survey was conducted on 151 young people between the ages of 12 and 25 years. Findings The results showed that use behaviour on consumption mobile applications was affected by gamification. Behavioural intention to use was affected by the performance expectancy (PE) and effort expectancy (EE) of mobile application designs. Mobile applications characteristics do not affect behavioural intention to use mobile applications but through the mediator mobile application designs. Research limitations/implications This study also proposes mechanisms that explain how mobile apps characteristics affect EE and PE through app designs. Use behaviour is affected by Gamification elements. Affective need and social need link up uses and gratification (U&G) theory and unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT)in gamification context. This study confirms the affective need affecting behavioural intention (Thongsri et al., 2018). In this regard, the mechanism between the relationship of affective need and behavioural intention was showed. Affective need through both PE and EE influencing behavioural intention. Practical implications Corporations should consider adding gamified elements into consumption-related mobile apps to increasing usage behaviour. Lucky draws, quizzes and games could be built in for mobile apps. Mobile app designs and characteristics could improve user experience by allowing consumers to perform their search and buying processes easily. Mobile app designs will not directly influence “behavioral intention to use” but use behaviour. Social implications Practitioners need to look at the problem from technological and customer perspectives. From technological viewpoint, both mobile apps characteristics and design are important in affecting user behaviour. From customer’s perspective, it would be helpful to add gaming elements to the mobile apps and induce emotion. One may also use visual image to create an immersive experience on the development of storyline. Prospective customers might focus on what is going on in the story and pay less attention on its own logic. Thus, simply lucky draw might not have a true effect since player have its own belief working. A suitable story element could have positive effect on mobile apps use behaviour. Originality/value This study is one of the first to examine the association between gamification and use behaviour on consumption-related mobile applications. A new framework was proposed by integrating UTAUT model and U&G theory.

scholarly journals Technology Acceptance Among Patients With Hemophilia in Hong Kong and Their Expectations of a Mobile Health App to Promote Self-management: Survey Study (Preprint)

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yin Ting Cheung ◽  
Pok Hong Lam ◽  
Teddy Tai-Ning Lam ◽  
Henry Hon Wai Lam ◽  
Chi Kong Li
Keyword(s):  
Hong Kong ◽  
Technology Acceptance ◽  
Mobile Technology ◽  
Mobile Health ◽  
Health Care Professionals ◽  
Surrogate Marker ◽  
Mobile App ◽  
Self Management ◽  
Clotting Factors ◽  
Bleeding Events

BACKGROUND The lifelong management of hemophilia is demanding and complex. In July 2019, we published a review in the <i>Journal of Medical Internet Research</i>, summarizing telehealth interventions that facilitate monitoring of bleeding events and promoting the appropriate use of clotting factors among patients with hemophilia. This work has led to the development of a community program that aims to harness technology to promote self-management among patients with hemophilia in Hong Kong. OBJECTIVE Before the inception of this program, we conducted a cross-sectional survey to evaluate the patients’ level of technology acceptance and identify their expectations of the use of mobile technology for self-management of hemophilia. METHODS In total, 56 participants (75% adult patients and 25% parents of pediatric patients; 87.5% with moderate to severe disease) were recruited from a local nongovernmental organization that serves patients with hemophilia. They rated their perceived confidence and acceptance in using the new mobile technology (score 1 to 5 for each item, with a higher score indicating better acceptance) using a structured questionnaire (adapted from the Technology Acceptance Model). They also identified the top features that they perceived to be the most important components of a mobile app for the self-management of hemophilia. The Mann–Whitney <i>U</i> test was used to compare technology acceptance scores across subgroups of different clinical and socioeconomic characteristics. RESULTS In general, the participants considered themselves skilled in using mobile apps (mean 4.3, 95% CI 4.1-4.5). They were willing to learn to use the new mobile app to organize their bleeding records (mean 4.0, 95% CI 3.7-4.3) and to manage their health (mean 4.2, 95% CI 4.1-4.5). Participants who lived in public housing (a surrogate marker for lower socioeconomic status in Hong Kong) reported lower technology acceptance than those who lived in private housing (<i>P</i>=.04). The most important features identified by the participants concerned documenting of infusion logs (n=49, 87.5%), bleeding events (n=48, 85.7%), and the secure delivery of the bleeding information to health care professionals (n=40, 71.4%). CONCLUSIONS It is encouraging to infer that patients with hemophilia in Hong Kong are receptive to the use of mobile health technology. The findings of this survey are applicable in designing the key features of a patient-centered, multimodal program harnessing mobile technology to promote self-management among patients with hemophilia. Future studies should evaluate participants’ acceptability and perceived usability of the mobile app via user metrics and assess clinical and humanistic outcomes of this program.

scholarly journals Theory-Based Social and Non-Social Engagement Features in Smoking Cessation Mobile Apps: A Content Analysis

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (17) ◽  
pp. 9106
Author(s):  
Qinghua Yang
Keyword(s):  
Social Support ◽  
Smoking Cessation ◽  
Content Analysis ◽  
Social Engagement ◽  
Rating Scale ◽  
Mobile Apps ◽  
Mobile App ◽  
Social Referencing ◽  
User Engagement ◽  
The Social

Despite the ubiquity of smartphone ownership and the increasing integration of social engagement features in smoking cessation apps to engage users, the social and non-social engagement features that are present in current smoking cessation apps and the effectiveness of these features in engaging users remain understudied. To fill the gap in the literature, a content analysis of free and paid smoking cessation mobile apps was conducted to examine (a) the presence of social features (i.e., social support, social announcement, and social referencing) and non-social engagement features (e.g., personal environmental changes, goal setting, progress tracking, reinforcement tracking, self-monitoring, and personalized recommendations) and (b) their relationships with user engagement scores measured by the Mobile App Rating Scale. In this study, 28.2% of the smoking cessation apps enable social announcement and 8.1% offered the social support feature. Only two apps provided a social referencing feature (1.3%). No app included reinforcement tracking, with the percentage of other non-social engagement features ranging from 9.4% to 49.0%. Social support (β = 0.30, p < 0.001), social announcement (β = 0.21, p < 0.05), and social referencing (β = 0.18, p < 0.05) were significant predictors of user engagement. Regarding the non-social engagement features, personal environment changes (β = 0.38, p < 0.001), progress tracking (β = 0.18, p < 0.05), and personalized recommendations (β = 0.37, p < 0.001) significantly predicted user engagement. The findings not only contribute to the mobile communication literature by applying and extending the theory-based mobile health apps engagement typology, but also inform the future architecture design of smoking cessation mobile apps.

scholarly journals Young People’s, Parents’, and Professionals’ Views on Required Components of Mobile Apps to Support Self-Management of Juvenile Arthritis: Qualitative Study

2018 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. e25 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer M Waite-Jones ◽  
Rabiya Majeed-Ariss ◽  
Joanna Smith ◽  
Simon R Stones ◽  
Vanessa Van Rooyen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Qualitative Study ◽  
Mobile Apps ◽  
Juvenile Arthritis ◽  
Self Management
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