JMIR mHealth and uHealth
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JMIR mHealth and uHealth · Mar 2016
Development of a Weight Loss Mobile App Linked With an Accelerometer for Use in the Clinic: Usability, Acceptability, and Early Testing of its Impact on the Patient-Doctor Relationship.
Although complications of obesity are well acknowledged and managed by clinicians, management of obesity itself is often difficult, which leads to its underdiagnosis and undertreatment in hospital settings. However, tools that could improve the management of obesity, including self-monitoring, engagement with a social network, and open channels of communication between the patient and doctor, are limited in a clinic-based setting. ⋯ A mobile phone app linked with an accelerometer for a clinic-based weight loss program is useful and acceptable for weight management but exhibited less favorable early effects on patient-doctor relationships.
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JMIR mHealth and uHealth · Feb 2016
The PAediatric Risk Assessment (PARA) Mobile App to Reduce Postdischarge Child Mortality: Design, Usability, and Feasibility for Health Care Workers in Uganda.
Postdischarge death in children is increasingly being recognized as a major contributor to overall child mortality. The PAediatric Risk Assessment (PARA) app is an mHealth tool developed to aid health care workers in resource-limited settings such as Sub-Saharan Africa to identify pediatric patients at high risk of both in-hospital and postdischarge mortality. The intended users of the PARA app are health care workers (ie, nurses, doctors, and clinical officers) with varying levels of education and technological exposure, making testing of this clinical tool critical to successful implementation. ⋯ Through feedback and modifications made during this usability study, the PARA app was developed into a user-friendly app, encompassing user expectations and culturally intuitive interfaces for users with a range of technological exposure. Doctors and medical students had shorter task completion times, though all participants reported the usefulness of this tool to improve postdischarge outcomes.
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JMIR mHealth and uHealth · Feb 2016
Design Considerations for Smoking Cessation Apps: Feedback From Nicotine Dependence Treatment Providers and Smokers.
Hundreds of smoking cessation apps are commercially available, but most are not theory-based or designed to take advantage of mobile technology in ways that could make them more engaging and possibly more effective. Considering input from both clinical experts (who understand best practice nicotine dependence treatment requirements) to inform appropriate content and from smokers (the end users) to express their preferences is important in designing these programs in the future. ⋯ Smoking cessation apps hold great promise as intervention tools but only if they engage users and appropriately treat nicotine dependence. Intervention development should take into consideration the perspectives of both treatment experts and smokers. This paper highlights important perspectives from each of these groups to be considered when designing future app-based smoking cessation programs.
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JMIR mHealth and uHealth · Jan 2016
Acceptance of Commercially Available Wearable Activity Trackers Among Adults Aged Over 50 and With Chronic Illness: A Mixed-Methods Evaluation.
Physical inactivity and sedentary behavior increase the risk of chronic illness and death. The newest generation of "wearable" activity trackers offers potential as a multifaceted intervention to help people become more active. ⋯ For older adults living with chronic illness, wearable activity trackers are perceived as useful and acceptable. New users may need support to both set up the device and learn how to interpret their data.
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JMIR mHealth and uHealth · Dec 2015
The Most Popular Smartphone Apps for Weight Loss: A Quality Assessment.
Advancements in mobile phone technology have led to the development of smartphones with the capability to run apps. The availability of a plethora of health- and fitness-related smartphone apps has the potential, both on a clinical and public health level, to facilitate healthy behavior change and weight management. However, current top-rated apps in this area have not been extensively evaluated in terms of scientific quality and behavioral theory evidence base. ⋯ Overall, the most popular commercial apps for weight management are suboptimal in quality, given the inadequate scientific coverage and accuracy of weight-related information, and the relative absence of BCTs across the apps reviewed. With the limited regulatory oversight around the quality of these types of apps, this evaluation provides clinicians and consumers an informed view of the highest-quality apps in the current popular app pool appropriate for recommendation and uptake. Further research is necessary to assess the effectiveness of apps for weight management.