User Perspectives of Mood-Monitoring Apps Available to Young People: Qualitative Content Analysis

• DOI: 10.2196/18140
• Publication Date: 2020-08-11T17:54:37Z
• Authors: Emily Widnall; Claire Ellen Grant; Tao Wang; Lauren Cross; Sumithra Velupillai; Angus Roberts; Robert Stewart; Emily Simonoff; Johnny Downs
• Keywords: Qualitative analysis; mHealth

Mobile health apps are increasingly available and used in a clinical context to monitor young people's mood mental health. Despite the benefits of accessibility cost-effectiveness, consumer engagement remains hurdle for uptake continued use. Hundreds mood-monitoring publicly people on app stores; however, few studies have examined perspectives. App store reviews held Google Apple platforms provide large, rich source naturally generated, user reviews. Although commercial developers use these data modify improve their apps, date, there has been very little in-depth evaluation within scientific research, our current understanding what makes engaging valuable is limited.This study aims gain better users consider useful encourage frequent prolonged appropriate people.A systematic approach was applied selection We identified (n=53) by combination automated application programming interface (API) methods. only included based age categories (apps those younger than 18 years). subsequently downloaded all via API scraping methods selected representative subsample (n=1803) manual qualitative content analysis.The analysis revealed 8 main themes: (34%), flexibility (21%), recording representation (18%), requests (17%), reflecting (16%), technical features design (13%), promotion (11%). A total 6 minor themes were also identified: notification reminders; recommendation; privacy, security, transparency; developer; adverts; social/community.Users value that can be personalized needs, simple intuitive design, allow accurate review complex fluctuating moods. repository feedback wealth information about an needs not being met. Users perceive positively, but over 20% need improvement.