JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

The desire for healthcare organizations to reduce the cost of chronic care and to prevent disease from occurring to begin with, has coincided with the development of new technology that is revolutionizing digital health. Numerous health-oriented mobile phone applications (referred to as mHealth apps) have been developed and are available for download into smartphones. These mHealth apps serve a wide range of functions. There are apps that monitor data to treat or avoid chronic illness; apps for managing daily activities and diet; apps promoting healthy choices for people who want to maintain and improve their overall health, and many others. While it is generally recognized that mHealth apps have a significant potential for promoting public health, little research has been done to determine user preferences for such apps. Understanding what users want in their mHealth apps can help increase their acceptability and encourage healthy lifestyles. The research in this article tests the major product qualities of such apps, asking two key questions: Do users seek interaction with a live physician, or are they willing to rely on artificial intelligence to analyze data from their app? Which aspects of their app do they consider as having a positive instrumental, aesthetic, or symbolic value? Next, the research presented here tests how these judgments influence product preference. The contribution of this paper is its focus on user preferences which may help in the design of mHealth apps to better address peoples’ needs—thus encouraging a wide, frequent, and effective use of such tools which promote public health.