Mobile health apps: An exploration of user-generated reviews in Google Play Store on a physical activity application

Journal article

Objective. This study aimed to evaluate reviews that have been postedpublicly on the app ‘MapMyRun’ to investigate which features wereassociated with usage of the app. A secondary aim was to determinewhether MapMyRun consisted of specific behaviour change techniquesthat would have increased the likelihood of users being engaged with theapp.Methods. Reviews posted on MapMyRun by users between 1st May 2017-30th April 2018 were extracted, coded and analysed using contentanalysis.Results. Eleven behaviour change techniques were identified among thefeatures of MapMyRun. A total of 3,253 reviews met theinclusion/exclusion criteria, and 12 codes were developed. The codeswere grouped into 8 subthemes within 2 main themes: ‘Effort’ and ‘Selfmonitoring’. Consistent with previous literature, ‘Goal-Setting’ and ‘SelfMonitoring of Behaviour’ were two techniques included in MapMyRun.Social features of MapMyRun facilitated competition among users, theirfamily, and friends.Conclusions. This was the first qualitative review to assess a singlemobile health physical activity app and analyse it from the perspectivesof the users. Creators of future mobile health apps should focus on userfriendliness and the use of social features, as both may increase thechances of users’ continued use with the app

Authors: Al-Abbadey, M; Fong, MM-W; Wilde, LJ; Ingham, R; Ghio, D

• Publication status: Published
• Peer review status: Peer reviewed
• Publisher: SAGE Publications
• Journal: Digital Health
• Volume: 7
• Pages: 20552076211014988-20552076211014988
• Article number: 20552076211014988
• Publication date: 2021-05-08
• DOI: 10.1177/20552076211014988
• EISSN: 2055-2076
• ISSN: 2055-2076
• Language: English
• Keywords: Social psychology; Focus group; Psychology; World Wide Web; App store; Internet privacy; Mobile device; Business; Computer science; Usage data; Mobile apps; Inclusion (mineral)