JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

Against the backdrop of globalization, China remains one of the most heavily burdened countries in Asia with regard to Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome(AIDS). The country continues to have a substantial number of HIV-infected individuals and AIDS patients, indicating the persisting severity of AIDS prevention and control efforts. However, many high-risk groups and patients affected by AIDS may be less likely to actively seek care from medical institutions due to fear of experiencing shame or discrimination. Mobile applications provide a promising avenue for supporting the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of AIDS. Nevertheless, the functionality and quality of these mobile applications have yet to undergo comprehensive systematic evaluation.

Objective:

The objective of this study is to identify the available mobile applications for AIDS in China, assess and discuss the functional features and quality of these Chinese AIDS mobile applications, and offer decision support for patients and clinical practitioners in accessing high-quality AIDS mobile applications. Furthermore, based on the evaluation results, recommendations for improvement will be provided.

Methods:

A systematic search was conducted on the QimaiTM application data platform, AladdinTM WeChat applet data platform, and WeChat to identify mobile applications related to AIDS. To ensure inclusiveness, a snowball sampling method was employed to supplement potentially overlooked applications. The collected mobile applications underwent a rigorous screening process based on unified criteria, including relevance to AIDS, availability in the Chinese language, usability, information update frequency, and functionality. Subsequently, a panel of three independent reviewers evaluated the selected applications using the Mobile App Rating Scale (MARS) questionnaire.

Results:

A total of 2,901 AIDS mobile applications were included in the study, with 2,897 identified through information retrieval and an additional 4 added via snowball sampling. After a rigorous selection process, 21 applications were determined to be usable. Among them, the "Wu Ai Fang Hua" application achieved the highest App Quality Mean Score of 4.06. Overall, Chinese AIDS mobile applications scored well in terms of functionality (mean=4.28, SD=0.39) and information (mean=3.82, SD=0.33), while displaying lower scores in engagement (mean=2.4, SD=0.53) and aesthetics (mean=3.4, SD=0.49). A notable issue was the widespread lack of user privacy protection, with only 5 (24%) applications offering this feature.

Conclusions:

The number of available Chinese AIDS mobile applications is limited, with the WeChat applet dominating the market. While these applications excel in terms of functionality and information provision, there is substantial room for improvement in terms of user engagement and aesthetics, especially with regard to enhancing user participation. Additionally, there is a pressing issue concerning user privacy protection. Unlike generic mobile applications, privacy protection is of utmost importance for AIDS-specific applications. Therefore, Chinese AIDS mobile application developers should not only focus on researching ways to improve user engagement and aesthetics but also prioritize the development and enhancement of privacy protection features. This will help attract more users and increase user loyalty.