ArticleJMIR mHealth and uHealth2019
Usability Challenges for Health and Wellness Mobile Apps: Mixed-Methods Study Among mHealth Experts and Consumers.
Article in JMIR mHealth and uHealth, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 53 papers, 5 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
53 citing papers in PubMed, 5 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Pooled it
- System Usability Scale Benchmarking for Digital Health Apps: Meta-analysis.JMIR mHealth and uHealth · 2022Pooled it
- Towards Understanding the Usability Attributes of AI-Enabled eHealth Mobile Applications.Journal of healthcare engineering · 2021Pooled it
- Methodological Quality of Manuscripts Reporting on the Usability of Mobile Applications for Pain Assessment and Management: A Systematic Review.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2020Pooled it
- Evaluation of Heart Failure Apps to Promote Self-Care: Systematic App Search.JMIR mHealth and uHealth · 2019Pooled it
- Overcoming Big Data Interoperability Challenges Generated by Ubiquitous Devices Outside Traditional Health Systems: A Systematic Review Protocol.Journal of evaluation in clinical practice · 2026Article
- Feasibility of a Noncontact Photoplethysmography-Based Mobile App for Noninvasive Hemoglobin Monitoring: Exploratory Observational Study.JMIR formative research · 2026Observational
- A hierarchical framework to evaluate the usability of smartphone health applications.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- Translation and Validation of the User Version of the Mobile Application Rating Scale Into the Polish Language: Cross-Sectional Methodological Study.JMIR formative research · 2026Article
- Digital Health Interventions for Depression and Anxiety in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: Rapid Scoping Review.JMIR mental health · 2025Article
- Empowering postpartum women: the role of mHealth apps in promoting mental health and obesity prevention.BMC women's health · 2025Article
- Evaluation of the Early Years South Australia mobile application.BMC public health · 2025Article
- Using codesign workshops to develop a conceptual framework for a mobile health app targeting chronic low back pain self-management.BMJ open · 2025Article
- User Experience and Extended Technology Acceptance Model in Commercial Health Care App Usage Among Patients With Cancer: Mixed Methods Study.Journal of medical Internet research · 2024Article
- Validation of a Questionnaire to Assess the Usability of and User Experience with Mobile Health Applications.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Article
- Challenges and Alternatives to Evaluation Methods and Regulation Approaches for Medical Apps as Mobile Medical Devices: International and Multidisciplinary Focus Group Discussion.Journal of medical Internet research · 2024Article
- Attributes, Methods, and Frameworks Used to Evaluate Wearables and Their Companion mHealth Apps: Scoping Review.JMIR mHealth and uHealth · 2024Article
- WeChat mini program in laboratory biosafety education among medical students at Guangzhou Medical University: a mixed method study of feasibility and usability.BMC medical education · 2024Article
- An mHealth Application in German Health Care System: Importance of User Participation in the Development Process.Journal of medical systems · 2024Article
- Systematic Review of Usability Factors, Models, and Frameworks with Blockchain Integration for Secure Mobile Health (mHealth) Applications.Blockchain in healthcare today · 2024Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundBy 2019, there will be an estimated 4.68 billion mobile phone users globally. This increase comes with an unprecedented proliferation in mobile apps, a plug-and-play product positioned to improve lives in innumerable ways. Within this landscape, medical apps will see a 41% compounded annual growth rate between 2015 and 2020, but paradoxically, prevailing evidence indicates declining downloads of such apps and decreasing "stickiness" with the intended end users.
objectiveAs usability is a prerequisite for success of health and wellness mobile apps, this paper aims to provide insights and suggestions for improving usability experience of the mobile health (mHealth) app by exploring the degree of alignment between mHealth insiders and consumers.
methodsUsability-related major themes were selected from over 20 mHealth app development studies. The list of themes, grouped into 5 categories using the Nielsen usability model, was then used as a framework to identify and classify the responses from mHealth expert (insider) interviews. Responses from the qualitative phase were integrated into some questions for a quantitative consumer survey. Subsequently, categorical data from qualitative mHealth insider interviews and numerical data from a quantitative consumer survey were compared in order to identify common usability themes and areas of divergence.
resultsOf the 5 usability attributes described in Nielsen model, Satisfaction ranked as the top attribute for both mHealth insiders and consumers. Satisfaction refers to user likability, comfort, and pleasure. The consumer survey yielded 451 responses. Out of 9 mHealth insiders' top concerns, 5 were similar to those of the consumers. On the other hand, consumers did not grade themes such as Intuitiveness as important, which was deemed vital by mHealth insiders. Other concerns of the consumers include in-app charges and advertisements.
conclusionsThis study supports and contributes to the existing pool of mixed-research studies. Strengthening the connectivity between suppliers and users (through the designed research tool) will help increase uptake of mHealth apps. In a holistic manner, this will have a positive overall outcome for the mHealth app ecosystem.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.