Title

Mobile App Rating Scale: A New Tool for Assessing the Quality of Health Mobile Apps

Authors

Stoyan R Stoyanov1,2*, MRes(Psych); Leanne Hides1,2*, PhD(Clin); David J Kavanagh1,2, PhD; Oksana Zelenko2,3,PhD; Dian Tjondronegoro2,4, PhD; Madhavan Mani1,2, MSc

Author Affiliations

1: Institute of Health & Biomedical Innovation, School of Psychology and Counselling, Queensland University of Technology (QUT), Brisbane, QLD,Australia

2: The Young and Well Cooperative Research Centre (Young and Well CRC), Abbotsford, VIC, Australia

3: School of Design, Creative Industries Faculty, Queensland University of Technology (QUT), Brisbane, QLD, Australia

4: Information Systems, Science and Engineering Faculty, Queensland University of Technology (QUT), Brisbane, QLD, Australia

Publisher Information

JMIR Publications, 2015.

Date of Publication

2015

Series/Report no.

JMIR mHealth and uHealth, Vol 3, Iss 1, p e27

Key words

Well-being; mental health; e-health; mobile health (mhealth); mobile application; assessment; rating; scale development

Abstract

Background: The use of mobile apps for health and well being promotion has grown exponentially in recent years. Yet, there is currently no app-quality assessment tool beyond “star”-ratings.

Objective: The objective of this study was to develop a reliable, multidimensional measure for trialling, classifying, and rating the quality of mobile health apps.

Methods: A literature search was conducted to identify articles containing explicit Web or app quality rating criteria published between January 2000 and January 2013. Existing criteria for the assessment of app quality were categorized by an expert panel to develop the new Mobile App Rating Scale (MARS) subscales, items, descriptors, and anchors. There were sixty well being apps that were randomly selected using an iTunes search for MARS rating. There were ten that were used to pilot the rating procedure, and the remaining 50 provided data on interrater reliability.

Results: There were 372 explicit criteria for assessing Web or app quality that were extracted from 25 published papers, conference proceedings, and Internet resources. There were five broad categories of criteria that were identified including four objective quality scales: engagement, functionality, aesthetics, and information quality; and one subjective quality scale; which were refined into the 23-item MARS. The MARS demonstrated excellent internal consistency (alpha = .90) and interrater reliability intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC = .79).

Conclusions: The MARS is a simple, objective, and reliable tool for classifying and assessing the quality of mobile health apps. It can also be used to provide a checklist for the design and development of new high quality health apps.

주요 내용

건강 및 복지 증진을 위한 모바일 앱 사용이 최근 몇 년간 기하급수적으로 증가했다. 그러나 2015년 기준 "Star" rating을 뛰어넘는 애플리케이션 품질 평가 툴은 없다. 따라서 본 연구의 목적은 모바일 건강 애플리케이션의 품질을 평가, 분류 및 평가하는 신뢰할 수 있는 다차원 측정 방법을 개발하는 것이다.

웹 또는 앱 품질을 평가하기 위한 372개의 명확한 기준이 25개의 발표된 논문, 회의 진행 및 인터넷 자료에서 발췌되었다. 참여, 기능, 미학 및 정보 품질(engagement, functionality, aesthetics, and information quality)의 네 가지 객관적 품질 척도와 23개 항목의 MARS로 세분화된 주관적 품질 척도를 포함하여 다섯 가지 광범위한 범주가 식별되었다.

ISSN

2291-5222 (Online)

DOI

10.2196/mhealth.3422