Hollman Heather, Sui Wuyou, Zhang Haowei, Rhodes Ryan E
Behavioural Medicine Lab, School of Exercise Science, Physical and Health Education, University of Victoria, Victoria, BC, Canada.
School of Kinesiology, Western University, London, ON, Canada.
JMIR Form Res. 2025 Apr 23;9:e59477. doi: 10.2196/59477.
Mobile health apps have high potential to address the widespread deficit in physical activity (PA); however, they have demonstrated greater impact on short-term PA compared to long-term PA. The multi-process action control (M-PAC) framework promotes sustained PA behavior by combining reflective (eg, attitudes) and regulatory (eg, planning and emotion regulation) constructs with reflexive (eg, habits and identity) constructs. Usability testing is important to determine the integrity of a mobile health app's intrinsic properties and suggestions for improvement before feasibility and efficacy testing.
This study aimed to gather usability feedback from end users on a first and a second version of an M-PAC app prototype.
First, 3 workshops and focus groups, with 5 adult participants per group, were conducted to obtain first impressions of the M-PAC app interface and the first 3 lessons. The findings informed several modifications to the app program (eg, added cards with reduced content) and its interface (eg, created a link placeholder image and added a forgot password feature). Subsequently, a single-group pilot usability study was conducted with 14 adults who were not meeting 150 minutes per week of moderate-to-vigorous PA. They used the updated M-PAC app for 2 weeks, participated in semistructured interviews, and completed the Mobile App Usability Questionnaire (MAUQ) to provide usability and acceptability feedback. The focus groups and interviews were recorded, transcribed, and analyzed with content analysis informed by usability heuristics. The MAUQ scores were analyzed descriptively.
Participants from the workshops and focus groups (mean age 30.40, SD9.49 years) expressed overall satisfaction with the app layout and content. The language was deemed appropriate; however, some terms (eg, self-efficacy) and acronyms (eg, frequency, intensity, time, and type) needed definitions. Participants provided several recommendations for the visual design (eg, more cards with less text). They experienced challenges in accessing and using the help module and viewing some images, and were unsure how to create or reset the password. Findings from the usability pilot study (mean age 41.38, SD12.92 years; mean moderate-to-vigorous PA 66.07, SD57.92 min/week) revealed overall satisfaction with the app layout (13/13, 100%), content (10/13, 77%), and language (7/11, 64%). Suggestions included more enticing titles and additional and variable forms of content (eg, visual aids and videos). The app was easy to navigate (9/13, 69%); however, some errors were identified, such as PA monitoring connection problems, broken links, and difficulties entering and modifying data. The mean MAUQ total and subscale scores were as follows: total=5.06 (SD1.20), usefulness=4.17 (SD1.31), ease of use=5.36 (SD1.27), and interface and satisfaction=5.52 (SD1.42).
Overall, the M-PAC app was deemed usable and acceptable. The findings will inform the development of the minimum viable product, which will undergo subsequent feasibility testing.
移动健康应用程序在解决身体活动（PA）普遍不足方面具有巨大潜力；然而，与长期PA相比，它们对短期PA的影响更大。多过程行动控制（M-PAC）框架通过将反思性（如态度）和调节性（如计划和情绪调节）结构与反射性（如习惯和身份）结构相结合，促进持续的PA行为。在进行可行性和有效性测试之前，可用性测试对于确定移动健康应用程序内在属性的完整性以及改进建议非常重要。
本研究旨在收集终端用户对M-PAC应用程序原型第一版和第二版的可用性反馈。
首先，举办了3次工作坊和焦点小组讨论，每组有5名成年参与者，以获取对M-PAC应用程序界面和前三课的第一印象。研究结果为应用程序程序（如添加内容减少的卡片）及其界面（如创建链接占位符图像并添加忘记密码功能）的若干修改提供了依据。随后，对14名每周中度至剧烈PA不足150分钟的成年人进行了单组试点可用性研究。他们使用更新后的M-PAC应用程序2周，参加半结构化访谈，并完成移动应用程序可用性问卷（MAUQ），以提供可用性和可接受性反馈。焦点小组讨论和访谈进行了录音、转录，并采用基于可用性启发式的内容分析法进行分析。对MAUQ分数进行了描述性分析。
工作坊和焦点小组的参与者（平均年龄30.40岁，标准差9.49岁）对应用程序的布局和内容总体满意。语言被认为合适；然而，一些术语（如自我效能感）和首字母缩略词（如频率、强度、时间和类型）需要定义。参与者对视觉设计提出了若干建议（如文本更少的卡片更多）。他们在访问和使用帮助模块以及查看一些图像时遇到了困难，并且不确定如何创建或重置密码。可用性试点研究的结果（平均年龄41.38岁，标准差12.92岁；平均中度至剧烈PA为66.07分钟，标准差57.92分钟/周）显示，对应用程序的布局（13/13，100%）、内容（10/13，77%）和语言（7/11，64%）总体满意。建议包括更具吸引力的标题以及更多样化的内容形式（如图形辅助工具和视频）。该应用程序易于导航（9/13，69%）；然而，发现了一些错误，如PA监测连接问题、链接中断以及输入和修改数据困难。MAUQ总分及各子量表分数如下：总分=5.06（标准差1.20），有用性=4.17（标准差1.31），易用性=5.36（标准差1.27），界面与满意度=5.52（标准差1.42）。
总体而言，M-PAC应用程序被认为是可用且可接受的。研究结果将为最小可行产品的开发提供参考，该产品将随后进行可行性测试。
