JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

Parents juggling caregiving and paid employment encounter a range of barriers in providing healthy food to their families. Mobile apps have the potential to help parents in planning, purchasing and preparing healthy family food. The utility and acceptability of apps to support parents is unknown. User perspectives of existing technology, such as commercially available apps can guide the development of evidence informed apps in the future.

Objective:

This study aimed to determine the feasibility of existing, commercially available apps for supporting healthy food provision practices of working parents.

Methods:

Working parents (n=133) were recruited online and completed a 10-item COM-B self-evaluation survey assessing their needs in relation to the provision of healthy family meals. Five apps were selected for testing, including a meal planning app, recipe app, recipe manager app, family organizer app and barcode scanning app. Survey items were mapped to app features, with a sub-sample of parents (n=67) allocated two apps each to trial simultaneously over 4-weeks. A semi-structured interview exploring app utility and acceptability, and an online survey including the System Usability Scale and the user version of the Mobile App Rating Scale (uMARS), followed app testing. Interview data were analyzed using a theoretical thematic approach.

Results:

Survey participants (n=133; age 34+4 years) were mainly mothers (n=130/133; 98%) and partnered (n=122/133; 92%). Participants identified a need for healthy recipes (n=109/133; 82% agreed/strongly agreed), and time for food provision processes (n=107/133; 80%). Engagement quality was the lowest rated domain of the uMARS (mean/app 3.0-3.7 of maximum 5). The family organizer, requiring a high level of user input, was rated the lowest for usability (median(IQR) 48(34:73)). In the interviews, participants weighed up the benefits of the apps (i.e. time saving) against the effort involved in using them in determining their acceptability. Organization was a sub-theme emerging from interviews, associated with the use of meal planners and shopping lists. These features were used in-time, as behavior was occurring.

Conclusions:

Meal planning apps and features promoting organization present feasible, time saving solutions to supporting healthy food provision practices. Attention must be paid to enhancing app automation and integration, and recipe and nutrition content, to ensure that apps do not add to the time burden of food provision and are supportive of healthy food provision behavior in-time.