User experience of instant blood pressure: exploring reasons for the popularity of an inaccurate mobile health app.
Ontology highlight
ABSTRACT:
SUBMITTER: Plante TB
PROVIDER: S-EPMC6550164 | biostudies-literature | 2018
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
Publications
User experience of instant blood pressure: exploring reasons for the popularity of an inaccurate mobile health app.
Plante Timothy B TB O'Kelly Anna C AC Urrea Bruno B MacFarlane Zane T ZT Blumenthal Roger S RS Charleston Jeanne J Miller Edgar R ER Appel Lawrence J LJ Martin Seth S SS
NPJ digital medicine 20180810
Instant blood pressure (IBP) is a top-selling yet inaccurate blood pressure (BP)-measuring app that underreports elevated BP. Its iTunes app store user ratings and reviews were generally positive. Whether underreporting of elevated BP improves user experience is unknown. Participants enrolled at five clinics estimated their BP, measured their BP with IBP, then completed a user experience survey. Participants were grouped based on how their IBP BP measurements compared to their estimated BP (IBP ...[more]
Similar Datasets
Project description:BackgroundDespite the worldwide growth in mobile health (mHealth) tools and the possible benefits for both patients and health care providers, the overall adoption levels of mHealth tools by health professionals remain relatively low.ObjectiveThis study aimed (1) to investigate attitudes of health care providers and mHealth experts toward mHealth tools in the health context in general, and this study aimed (2) to test the acceptability and feasibility of a specific mHealth tool for patients with an eating disorder (ED), called TCApp, among patients and ED specialists.MethodsTo this purpose, we conducted an explorative qualitative study with 4 in-depth group discussions with several groups of stakeholders: our first focus group was conducted with 11 experts on mHealth from the Catalan Association of Health Entities; the second focus group included 10 health care professionals from the Spanish College of Doctors of Barcelona; the third focus group involved 9 patients with an ED who had used the TCApp over a 12-week period, and the fourth and last focus group involved 8 ED specialists who had monitored such ED patients on the Web.ResultsThe focus groups showed that health care providers and mHealth experts reported barriers for mHealth adoption more often than facilitators, indicating that mHealth techniques are difficult to obtain and use. Most barriers were attributed to external factors relating to the human or organizational environment (ie, lack of time because of workload, lack of direct interest on a legislative or political level) rather than being attributed to internal factors relating to individual obstacles. The results of the mHealth intervention study indicate that the TCApp was considered as easy to use and useful, although patients and the ED specialists monitoring them on the Web reported different adoption problems, such as the inability to personalize the app, a lack of motivational and interactive components, or difficulties in adhering to the study protocol.ConclusionsIn general, this paper indicates that both health professionals and patients foresee difficulties that need to be addressed before comprehensive adoption and usage of mHealth techniques can be effectively implemented. Such findings are in line with previous studies, suggesting that although they acknowledge their possible benefits and cost-effectiveness, health care providers are quite resistant and conservative about integrating mHealth technologies in their daily practice.
| S-EPMC6592393 | biostudies-literature
Project description:BackgroundA mobile app generates passive data, such as GPS data traces, without any direct involvement from the user. These passive data have transformed the manner of traditional assessments that require active participation from the user. Passive data collection is one of the most important core techniques for mobile health development because it may promote user retention, which is a unique characteristic of a software medical device.ObjectiveThe primary aim of this study was to quantify user retention for the "Staff Hours" app using survival analysis. The secondary aim was to compare user retention between passive data and active data, as well as factors associated with the survival rates of user retention.MethodsWe developed an app called "Staff Hours" to automatically calculate users' work hours through GPS data (passive data). "Staff Hours" not only continuously collects these passive data but also sends an 11-item mental health survey to users monthly (active data). We applied survival analysis to compare user retention in the collection of passive and active data among 342 office workers from the "Staff Hours" database. We also compared user retention on Android and iOS platforms and examined the moderators of user retention.ResultsA total of 342 volunteers (224 men; mean age 33.8 years, SD 7.0 years) were included in this study. Passive data had higher user retention than active data (P=.011). In addition, user retention for passive data collected via Android devices was higher than that for iOS devices (P=.015). Trainee physicians had higher user retention for the collection of active data than trainees from other occupations, whereas no significant differences between these two groups were observed for the collection of passive data (P=.700).ConclusionsOur findings demonstrated that passive data collected via Android devices had the best user retention for this app that records GPS-based work hours.
| S-EPMC7728530 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Recent years have witnessed an increased demand for mobile health (mHealth) platforms owing to the COVID-19 pandemic and preference for doorstep delivery. However, factors impacting user experiences and satisfaction levels across these platforms, using customer reviews, are still largely unexplored in academic research. The empirical framework we proposed in this paper addressed this research gap by analysing unmonitored user comments for some popular mHealth platforms. Using topic-modelling techniques, we identified the impacting factors (predictors) and categorised them into two major dimensions based on strategic adoption and motivational association. Findings from our study suggest that time and money, convenience, responsiveness, and availability emerge as significant predictors for delivering a positive user experience on m-health platforms. Next, we identified substantial moderating effects of review polarity on the predictors related to brand association and hedonic motivation, such as online booking and video consultation. Further, we also identified the top predictors for successful user experience across these platforms. Recommendations from our study will benefit business managers by offering an improved service design leading to higher user satisfaction across these m-health platforms.
| S-EPMC9715352 | biostudies-literature
Project description:BACKGROUND:Registration of brain activity has become increasingly popular and offers a way to identify the mental state of the user, prevent inappropriate workload, and control other devices by means of brain-computer interfaces. However, electroencephalography (EEG) is often related to user acceptance issues regarding the measuring technique. Meanwhile, emerging mobile EEG technology offers the possibility of gel-free signal acquisition and wireless signal transmission. Nonetheless, user experience research about the new devices is lacking. OBJECTIVE:This study aimed to evaluate user experience aspects of emerging mobile EEG devices and, in particular, to investigate wearing comfort and issues related to emotional design. METHODS:We considered 7 mobile EEG devices and compared them for their wearing comfort, type of electrodes, visual appearance, and subjects' preference for daily use. A total of 24 subjects participated in our study and tested every device independently of the others. The devices were selected in a randomized order and worn on consecutive day sessions of 60-min duration. At the end of each session, subjects rated the devices by means of questionnaires. RESULTS:Results indicated a highly significant change in maximal possible wearing duration among the EEG devices (χ26=40.2, n=24; P<.001). Regarding the visual perception of devices' headset design, results indicated a significant change in the subjects' ratings (χ26=78.7, n=24; P<.001). Results of the subjects' ratings regarding the practicability of the devices indicated highly significant differences among the EEG devices (χ26=83.2, n=24; P<.001). Ranking order and posthoc tests offered more insight and indicated that pin electrodes had the lowest wearing comfort, in particular, when coupled with a rigid, heavy headset. Finally, multiple linear regression for each device separately revealed that users were not willing to accept less comfort for a more attractive headset design. CONCLUSIONS:The study offers a differentiated look at emerging mobile and gel-free EEG technology and the relation between user experience aspects and device preference. Our research could be seen as a precondition for the development of usable applications with wearables and contributes to consumer health informatics and health-enabling technologies. Furthermore, our results provided guidance for the technological development direction of new EEG devices related to the aspects of emotional design.
| S-EPMC6751099 | biostudies-literature
Project description:BackgroundHundreds of mental health apps are available to the general public. With increasing pressures on health care systems, they offer a potential way for people to support their mental health and well-being. However, although many are highly rated by users, few are evidence-based. Equally, our understanding of what makes apps engaging and valuable to users is limited.ObjectiveThe aim of this paper was to analyze functionality and user opinions of mobile apps purporting to support cognitive behavioral therapy for depression and to explore key factors that have an impact on user experience and support engagement.MethodsWe systematically identified apps described as being based on cognitive behavioral therapy for depression. We then conducted 2 studies. In the first, we analyzed the therapeutic functionality of apps. This corroborated existing work on apps' fidelity to cognitive behavioral therapy theory, but we also extended prior work by examining features designed to support user engagement. Engagement features found in cognitive behavioral therapy apps for depression were compared with those found in a larger group of apps that support mental well-being in a more general sense. Our second study involved a more detailed examination of user experience, through a thematic analysis of publicly available user reviews of cognitive behavioral therapy apps for depression.ResultsWe identified 31 apps that purport to be based on cognitive behavioral therapy for depression. Functionality analysis (study 1) showed that they offered an eclectic mix of features, including many not based on cognitive behavioral therapy practice. Cognitive behavioral therapy apps used less varied engagement features compared with 253 other mental well-being apps. The analysis of 1287 user reviews of cognitive behavioral therapy apps for depression (study 2) showed that apps are used in a wide range of contexts, both replacing and augmenting therapy, and allowing users to play an active role in supporting their mental health and well-being. Users, including health professionals, valued and used apps that incorporated both core cognitive behavioral therapy and non-cognitive behavioral therapy elements, but concerns were also expressed regarding the unsupervised use of apps. Positivity was seen as important to engagement, for example, in the context of automatic thoughts, users expressed a preference to capture not just negative but also positive ones. Privacy, security, and trust were crucial to the user experience.ConclusionsCognitive behavioral therapy apps for depression need to improve with respect to incorporating evidence-based cognitive behavioral therapy elements. Equally, a positive user experience is dependent on other design factors, including consideration of varying contexts of use. App designers should be able to clearly identify the therapeutic basis of their apps, but they should also draw on evidence-based strategies to support a positive and engaging user experience. The most effective apps are likely to strike a balance between evidence-based cognitive behavioral therapy strategies and evidence-based design strategies, including the possibility of eclectic therapeutic techniques.
| S-EPMC6010839 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Obesity is a global epidemic. Behavioral change approaches towards improving nutrition, increasing physical activity level, improving sleep, and reducing sitting time are recommended as best practices in adolescent obesity management. However, access to evidence-based treatment is limited and portable technologies such as mobile apps may provide a useful platform to deliver such lifestyle interventions. No evidence-based validated app exists for obesity intervention; therefore, a novel mobile app (Reactivate) was developed for use in the Temple Street W82GO Healthy Lifestyles Program (W82GO).This study aimed to test the usability (technical effectiveness, efficiency, and user satisfaction) of the Reactivate mobile app in obese adolescents.Ten adolescents (7 males and 3 females, aged 12-17 years) who had been treated for obesity (>98th percentile for body mass index) at the Temple Street Children's University Hospital were recruited. Participants were given 8 tasks to complete in order to test the technical effectiveness of the app. A research assistant timed the user while completing each task in order to test the relative user efficiency of the app (time-on-task). The tasks fell into 5 categories and required the user to enter personal settings, find and answer surveys, create a message, use the goal setting feature, and enter details regarding their weight and height. In exploration of user satisfaction, each participant completed the standardized software usability measurement inventory (SUMI), which measures 5 aspects of user satisfaction: efficiency, effect, helpfulness, controllability, and learnability. Descriptive statistics were used to explore the mean relative user efficiency and SUMI scores.Mean age was 14.26 (SD 1.58) years. All adolescents completed each of the tasks successfully. The mean relative user efficiency scores were two to three times that of an expert user. Users responded that they would use Reactivate to monitor their growth over time, for motivation, and for goal setting. All users described Reactivate as an important mobile app.Our study describes the usability of a mobile app used in adolescent obesity management. Adolescents found Reactivate easy to use and their SUMI results indicated that the app scored high on user satisfaction. Usability testing is an important step towards refining the development of the Reactivate app, which can be used in the treatment of obesity. The study on the clinical efficacy of the Reactivate app is currently underway.
| S-EPMC4114470 | biostudies-literature
Project description:BACKGROUND:Despite the growing number of mental health apps available for smartphones, the perceived usability of these apps from the perspectives of end users or health care experts has rarely been reported. This information is vital, particularly for self-guided mHealth interventions, as perceptions of navigability and quality of content are likely to impact participant engagement and treatment compliance. OBJECTIVE:The aim of this study was to conduct a usability evaluation of a personalized, self-guided, app-based intervention for depression. METHODS:Participants were administered the System Usability Scale and open-ended questions as part of a semistructured interview. There were 15 participants equally divided into 3 groups: (1) individuals with clinical depression who were the target audience for the app, (2) mental health professionals, and (3) researchers who specialize in the area of eHealth interventions and/or depression research. RESULTS:The end-user group rated the app highly, both in quantitative and qualitative assessments. The 2 expert groups highlighted the self-monitoring features and range of established psychological treatment options (such as behavioral activation and cognitive restructuring) but had concerns that the amount and layout of content may be difficult for end users to navigate in a self-directed fashion. The end-user data did not confirm these concerns. CONCLUSIONS:Encouraging participant engagement via self-monitoring and feedback, as well as personalized messaging, may be a viable way to maintain participation in self-guided interventions. Further evaluation is necessary to determine whether levels of engagement with these features enhance treatment effects.
| S-EPMC6127496 | biostudies-literature
Project description:BACKGROUND:The MedFit app is designed to facilitate participation of people with cardiovascular disease (CVD) in an exercise-based rehabilitation program remotely. This paper details the development for the MedFit app. OBJECTIVE:The aim of this research was to develop a behavior change, theoretically informed exercise rehabilitation mobile app for adults with CVD by following the early stages of the formative research: development and feasibility testing. METHODS:Adhering to the mobile health (mHealth) development evaluation framework, the stages of the formative research process including (1) development and (2) feasibility were undertaken. The content and format of the MedFit app were developed based on (1) theory, (2) usability testing, and (3) content design. RESULTS:A systematic review of the literature was undertaken to identify the most appropriate theories from which to develop the app. This led to the creation of the MedFit app. The app went through iterative rounds of usability focus group testing with adults with CVD to provide feedback on the app. This process was framed by the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology model. Feedback was then translated into feasible technical improvements to be executed through close collaboration with the technical team, who adapted and made modifications to the app based on this codesign process. CONCLUSIONS:The formative research process of the app development involved theoretical underpinning, usability testing, and content design. mHealth interventions may play a key role in the future of health care, potentially addressing the barriers to participation in cardiac rehabilitation. This work will provide guidance for future research aiming to develop mobile apps by incorporating a best practice framework for mHealth intervention development and a user-centered design approach.
| S-EPMC6334713 | biostudies-literature
Project description:BackgroundPostfracture acute pain is often inadequately managed in older adults. Mobile health (mHealth) technologies can offer opportunities for self-management of pain; however, insufficient apps exist for acute pain management after a fracture, and none are designed for an older adult population.ObjectiveThis study aims to design, develop, and evaluate an mHealth app prototype using a human-centered design approach to support older adults in the self-management of postfracture acute pain.MethodsThis study used a multidisciplinary and user-centered design approach. Overall, 7 stakeholders (ie, 1 clinician-researcher specialized in internal medicine, 2 user experience designers, 1 computer science researcher, 1 clinical research assistant researcher, and 2 pharmacists) from the project team, together with 355 external stakeholders, were involved throughout our user-centered development process that included surveys, requirement elicitation, participatory design workshops, mobile app design and development, mobile app content development, and usability testing. We completed this study in 3 phases. We analyzed data from prior surveys administered to 305 members of the Canadian Osteoporosis Patient Network and 34 health care professionals to identify requirements for designing a low-fidelity prototype. Next, we facilitated 4 participatory design workshops with 6 participants for feedback on content, presentation, and interaction with our proposed low-fidelity prototype. After analyzing the collected data using thematic analysis, we designed a medium-fidelity prototype. Finally, to evaluate our medium-fidelity prototype, we conducted usability tests with 10 participants. The results informed the design of our high-fidelity prototype. Throughout all the phases of this development study, we incorporated inputs from health professionals to ensure the accuracy and validity of the medical content in our prototypes.ResultsWe identified 3 categories of functionalities necessary to include in the design of our initial low-fidelity prototype: the need for support resources, diary entries, and access to educational materials. We then conducted a thematic analysis of the data collected in the design workshops, which revealed 4 themes: feedback on the user interface design and usability, requests for additional functionalities, feedback on medical guides and educational materials, and suggestions for additional medical content. On the basis of these results, we designed a medium-fidelity prototype. All the participants in the usability evaluation tests found the medium-fidelity prototype useful and easy to use. On the basis of the feedback and difficulties experienced by participants, we adjusted our design in preparation for the high-fidelity prototype.ConclusionsWe designed, developed, and evaluated an mHealth app to support older adults in the self-management of pain after a fracture. The participants found our proposed prototype useful for managing acute pain and easy to interact with and navigate. Assessment of the clinical outcomes and long-term effects of our proposed mHealth app will be evaluated in the future.
| S-EPMC9635443 | biostudies-literature
Project description:BackgroundStress urinary incontinence (SUI) affects 10%-39% of women. Its first-line treatment consists of lifestyle interventions and pelvic floor muscle training (PFMT), which can be performed supervised or unsupervised. Health apps are increasing in number and can be used to improve adherence to treatments. We developed the Tät app, which provides a 3-month treatment program with a focus on PFMT for women with SUI. The app treatment was evaluated in a randomized controlled trial, which demonstrated efficacy for improving incontinence symptoms and quality of life. In this qualitative interview study, we investigated participant experiences of the app-based treatment.ObjectiveThis study aimed to explore women's experiences of using an app-based treatment program for SUI.MethodsThis qualitative study is based on telephone interviews with 15 selected women, with a mean age of 47 years, who had used the app in the previous randomized controlled trial. A semistructured interview guide with open-ended questions was used, and the interviews were transcribed verbatim. Data were analyzed according to the grounded theory.ResultsThe results were grouped into three categories: "Something new!" "Keeping motivation up!" and "Good enough?" A core category, "Enabling my independence," was identified. The participants appreciated having a new and modern way to access a treatment program for SUI. The use of new technology seemed to make incontinence treatment feel more prioritized and less embarrassing for the subjects. The closeness to their mobile phone and app features like reminders and visual graphs helped support and motivate the women to carry through the PFMT. The participants felt confident that they could perform the treatment program on their own, even though they expressed some uncertainty about whether they were doing the pelvic floor muscle contractions correctly. They felt that the app-based treatment increased their self-confidence and enabled them to take responsibility for their treatment.ConclusionsUse of the app-based treatment program for SUI empowered the women in this study and helped them self-manage their incontinence treatment. They appreciated the app as a new tool for supporting their motivation to carry through a slightly challenging PFMT program.Trial registrationClinicalTrials.gov NCT01848938; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT01848938 (Archived by WebCite at https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT01848938).
| S-EPMC6437616 | biostudies-literature