Science of Healthcare Delivery, College of Health Solutions, Arizona State University, Phoenix, AZ, United States.
Department of Health Policy and Management, Richard M Fairbanks School of Public Health, Indiana University, Indianapolis, IN, United States.
JMIR Mhealth Uhealth. 2020 Jan 24;8(1):e15663. doi: 10.2196/15663.
Mobile health apps related to maternal and infant health (MIH) are prevalent and frequently used. Some of these apps are extremely popular and have been downloaded over 5 million times. However, the understanding of user behavior and user adoption of these apps based on consumer preferences for different app features and categories is limited.
This study aimed to examine the relationship between MIH app characteristics and users' perceived satisfaction and intent to use.
The associations between app characteristics, ratings, and downloads were assessed in a sample of MIH apps designed to provide health education or decision-making support to pregnant women or parents and caregivers of infants. Multivariable linear regression was used to assess the relationship between app characteristics and user ratings, and ordinal logistic regression was used to assess the relationship between app characteristics and user downloads.
The analyses of user ratings and downloads included 421 and 213 apps, respectively. The average user rating was 3.79 out of 5. Compared with the Apple App Store, the Google Play Store was associated with high user ratings (beta=.33; P=.005). Apps with higher standardized user ratings (beta=.80; P<.001), in-app purchases (beta=1.12; P=.002), and in-app advertisements (beta=.64; P=.02) were more frequently downloaded. Having a health care organization developer as part of the development team was neither associated with user ratings (beta=-.20; P=.06) nor downloads (beta=-.14; P=.63).
A majority of MIH apps are developed by non-health care organizations, which could raise concern about the accuracy and trustworthiness of in-app information. These findings could benefit app developers in designing better apps and could help inform marketing and development strategies. Further work is needed to evaluate the clinical accuracy of information provided within the apps.
与母婴健康相关的移动健康应用（MIH）非常流行，也经常被使用。其中一些应用非常受欢迎，下载量超过 500 万次。然而，基于消费者对不同应用功能和类别的偏好，对这些应用的用户行为和用户采用情况的了解有限。
本研究旨在探讨 MIH 应用特点与用户满意度和使用意愿之间的关系。
在一组旨在为孕妇或婴儿的父母和照顾者提供健康教育或决策支持的 MIH 应用中，评估了应用特点、评分和下载量之间的关联。采用多变量线性回归评估应用特点与用户评分之间的关系，采用有序逻辑回归评估应用特点与用户下载量之间的关系。
用户评分和下载量分析分别纳入 421 个和 213 个应用。用户平均评分为 5 分制的 3.79 分。与 Apple App Store 相比，Google Play Store 与高用户评分相关（β=3.3；P=.005）。用户评分标准化较高的应用（β=8.0；P<.001）、应用内购买（β=1.12；P=.002）和应用内广告（β=6.4；P=.02）的下载量更高。开发团队中有医疗机构作为成员与用户评分（β=-2.0；P=.06）或下载量（β=-1.4；P=.63）均无关联。
大多数 MIH 应用都是由非医疗机构开发的，这可能会让人对应用内信息的准确性和可信度产生担忧。这些发现可能使应用开发者受益，有助于设计更好的应用，也有助于为市场营销和开发策略提供信息。需要进一步开展工作来评估应用内提供的信息的临床准确性。
