MedFit App, a Behavior-Changing, Theoretically Informed Mobile App for Patient Self-Management of Cardiovascular Disease: User-Centered Development

Duff, Orlaith; Walsh, Deirdre; Malone, Shona; McDermott, Lauri; Furlong, Bróna; O’Connor, Noel E.; Moran, Kieran; Woods, Catherine

doi:10.2196/formative.9550

Cited by 24 publications

(41 citation statements)

References 43 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…The findings indicate that EBCR programmes be reviewed so that their structure centres on the participants' motivations to engage in the programme. The findings also indicate the EBCR programmes require the introduction of new strategies to resolve practical barriers to adherence, such as home-based programmes using digital resources [39,40,41] Implications for Practice and Research Practice:…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Barriers to and Motives for Engagement with respect to Exercise Programmes for Chronic Disease Management

Bourke

Niranjan

O'Connor

et al. 2021

Preprint

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background: Insufficient physical activity (PA) is a leading risk factor for premature death worldwide. The Health Service Executive (HSE) National Exercise Referral Framework (NERF) aims to improve PA levels to manage NCDs. ULMedX is one such NERF centre offering an exercise-based cardiac rehabilitation (EBCR) programme with the aim of intervention development to maximise adherence for optimal health benefits. Aim: The purpose of this study was to explore participants’ experiences of the motives and barriers faced for programme commitment. Identifying areas for future development were also prioritized. Design & setting: Qualitative interviews were conducted with long-term participants and people who have dropped-out (PWDO) at ULMedX.Methods: Guided by the Theory of Planned Behaviour the 1-1 semi-structured interviews were performed, transcribed, and evaluated through thematic analysis. Results: Analysis was performed on 14 participants (50% female; mean age 67.3 years), comprising long term adherers (n=7; 13-month duration, 64% of classes) and PWDO (n=7; 2.8 month duration, 22% of classes). Three major factors affecting attendance emerged: social support, perceived outcomes from participation and practical barriers to attendance. Areas for future development included provision of evening and advanced classes, psychological support, more exercise variety, more educational seminars, new members start as their own group. Conclusion: Individuals were more likely to have had a better experience and commit to the programme if they believed involvement would benefit their physical and mental health, increase their exercise motivation by engendering a positive attitude to exercise, and that the ability to attend was within their control.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Barriers to and Motives for Engagement with respect to Exercise Programmes for Chronic Disease Management

Bourke

Niranjan

O'Connor

et al. 2021

Preprint

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Fourth, evidence of enhanced impact was found among digital interventions that reported involvement of end users in the design process. This involvement is a key component of user-centered design, an approach that prioritizes user needs and experiences to maximize functionality and increase engagement and relevance to the target population [82][83][84]. User involvement is particularly important when developing digital interventions tailored to specific target populations to ensure that such interventions appropriately reflect group priorities, preferences, and culture [83].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Using Digital Communication Technology to Increase HIV Testing Among Men Who Have Sex With Men and Transgender Women: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis (Preprint)

Veronese¹,

Ryan²,

Hughes³

et al. 2019

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

BACKGROUND HIV continues to disproportionately affect men who have sex with men (MSM) and transgender women (TW). Undiagnosed HIV is a major driver of HIV transmission rates, and increasing the uptake of regular HIV testing and facilitating timely initiation of HIV treatment is a global HIV prevention priority. However, MSM and TW experience a range of barriers that limit their access to testing and other prevention services. Given their growing ubiquity, digital communication technologies are increasingly being used to support HIV prevention efforts, and a growing number of studies have trialed the use of digital technology to promote HIV testing among MSM and TW. OBJECTIVE We undertook a systematic review and meta-analysis to assess the impact of digital communication technology on HIV testing uptake among MSM and TW. Subanalyses aimed to identify the features and characteristics of digital interventions associated with greater impact. METHODS A systematic literature review was undertaken using select databases and conference repositories. Studies describing the use of a digital technology—internet-enabled devices, including phones, tablets, and computers—to increase HIV testing uptake among MSM or TW using either randomized or observational cohort design with measurement of HIV testing rates measured pre- and postintervention, and published in English between 2010 and 2018 were included. Pooled effect estimates were calculated using a random effects meta-analysis. Subanalyses calculated effect estimates grouped by selected features of digital interventions. RESULTS A total of 13 randomized or observational studies were included in the final review. Digital interventions most commonly used mainstream, existing social media platforms (n=7) or promotion through online peer educators (n=5). Most interventions (n=8) were categorized as interactive and allowed user engagement and most directly facilitated testing (n=7) either by providing self-testing kits or referral to testing services. A total of 1930 participants were included across the 13 studies. HIV testing uptake among MSM and TW exposed to digital interventions was 1.5 times higher than that of unexposed MSM and TW (risk ratio [RR] 1.5; 95% CI 1.3-1.7). Subanalyses suggested an increased impact on HIV testing uptake among interventions that were delivered through mainstream social media–based platforms (RR 1.7; 95% CI 1.3-2.1), included direct facilitation of HIV testing (RR 1.6; 95% CI 1.4-1.9), were interactive (RR 1.6; 95% CI 1.4-1.8), and involved end users in the design process (RR 1.6; 95% CI 1.3-2.0). CONCLUSIONS These findings provide broad support for the integration of technology with existing approaches to promote and facilitate HIV testing among MSM and TW. Our findings identified key features that may be associated with greater impact on HIV testing uptake and can be used to inform future development efforts given the growing interest and application of digital technologies in HIV prevention. CLINICALTRIAL PROSPERO International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews CRD42017070055; https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/display_record.php?ID=CRD42017070055.

show abstract

“…In comparison with similar studies that have conducted iterative user testing methodologies to develop mHealth interventions, the research presented here has implemented significantly more iterative testing sessions with the target audience. The majority of other app development studies that report user testing often implement various stepwise iterative processes throughout development; however, many only utilize one testing session with their target audience [49][50][51][52][53]. The use of multiple testing sessions for Foodbot Factory is a strength of this study as it allowed the research team to improve engagement and usability of the app.…”

Section: Strengths and Limitationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Multiple testing sessions also enabled app evaluation with a larger sample size and tailored the content of the app to the diverse needs of Foodbot Factory's target audience. Finally, other studies that report on the development of mHealth interventions have not implemented multiple methods in their user testing sessions [51,53]. The use of multiple methods in this study provided the research team with a set of rich and comprehensive data on the user experience, increasing the efficiency and effectiveness of each successive iteration of Foodbot Factory.…”

Section: Strengths and Limitationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Optimizing Child Nutrition Education With the Foodbot Factory Mobile Health App: Formative Evaluation and Analysis

et al. 2020

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background Early nutrition interventions to improve food knowledge and skills are critical in enhancing the diet quality of children and reducing the lifelong risk of chronic disease. Despite the rise of mobile health (mHealth) apps and their known effectiveness for improving health behaviors, few evidence-based apps exist to help engage children in learning about nutrition and healthy eating. Objective This study aimed to describe the iterative development and user testing of Foodbot Factory, a novel nutrition education gamified app for children to use at home or in the classroom and to present data from user testing experiments conducted to evaluate the app. Methods An interdisciplinary team of experts in nutrition, education (pedagogy), and game design led to the creation of Foodbot Factory. First, a literature review and an environmental scan of the app marketplace were conducted, and stakeholders were consulted to define the key objectives and content of Foodbot Factory. Dietitian and teacher stakeholders identified priority age groups and learning objectives. Using a quasi-experimental mixed method design guided by the Iterative Convergent Design for Mobile Health Usability Testing approach, five app user testing sessions were conducted among students (ages 9-12 years). During gameplay, engagement and usability were assessed via direct observations with a semistructured form. After gameplay, qualitative interviews and questionnaires were used to assess user satisfaction, engagement, usability, and knowledge gained. Results The environmental scan data revealed that few evidence-based nutrition education apps existed for children. A literature search identified key nutrients of concern for Canadian children and techniques that could be incorporated into the app to engage users in learning. Foodbot Factory included characters (2 scientists and Foodbots) who initiate fun and engaging dialogue and challenges (minigames), with storylines incorporating healthy eating messages that align with the established learning objectives. A total of five modules were developed: drinks, vegetables and fruit, grain foods, animal protein foods, and plant protein foods. Seven behavior change techniques and three unique gamified components were integrated into the app. Data from each user testing session were used to inform and optimize the next app iteration. The final user testing session demonstrated that participants agreed that they wanted to play Foodbot Factory again (12/17, 71%), that the app is easy to use (12/17, 71%) and fun (14/17, 88%), and that the app goals were clearly presented (15/17, 94%). Conclusions Foodbot Factory is an engaging and educational mHealth intervention for the Canadian public that is grounded in evidence and developed by an interdisciplinary team of experts. The use of an iterative development approach is a demonstrated method to improve engagement, satisfaction, and usability with each iteration. Children find Foodbot Factory to be fun and easy to use, and can engage children in learning about nutrition.

show abstract

MedFit App, a Behavior-Changing, Theoretically Informed Mobile App for Patient Self-Management of Cardiovascular Disease: User-Centered Development

Cited by 24 publications

References 43 publications

Barriers to and Motives for Engagement with respect to Exercise Programmes for Chronic Disease Management

Barriers to and Motives for Engagement with respect to Exercise Programmes for Chronic Disease Management

Using Digital Communication Technology to Increase HIV Testing Among Men Who Have Sex With Men and Transgender Women: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis (Preprint)

Optimizing Child Nutrition Education With the Foodbot Factory Mobile Health App: Formative Evaluation and Analysis

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About