Accepted for/Published in: Asian/Pacific Island Nursing Journal
Date Submitted: Sep 24, 2024
Date Accepted: Dec 25, 2024
Evaluating the Quality, Content Accuracy, and User Suitability of mHealth Prenatal Care Apps for Expectant Mothers: A Critical Assessment
ABSTRACT
Background:
The proliferation of health apps in the digital health landscape has created significant opportunities for health promotion, particularly during pregnancy. However, despite the widespread distribution and popularity of pregnancy mobile apps, there is limited data on their quality and content.
Objective:
This review aimed to evaluate the quality, content accuracy and suitability of the most popular and freely available Persian m-health apps for prenatal care in expectant mothers.
Methods:
Through a systematic search, a total of 199 apps were screened from available app stores using the search term "pregnancy app" until July 2023. Inclusion criteria were apps in the Farsi language, freely available, downloaded more than 10,000 times, and designed for pregnant women. Ultimately, nine apps met these criteria. These apps were downloaded onto mobile phones and assessed by two independent reviewers using the Mobile App Rating Scale (MARS), the Coverage and Depth of Information Scale, and the Suitability Assessment of Materials (SAM). Also, Statistical analyses explored relationships between app quality metrics and user ratings.
Results:
The mean score of MARS across all nine apps was 3.55 ± 0.61 out of a maximum of 5. The aesthetics and functionality subscales received the highest ratings, followed by engagement and information subscales. Overall, 66% of the apps were rated poor for coverage and depth of health information, 33% were rated as adequate, and no app received a superior rating. Regarding SAM, 44% of the apps were rated as superior, 55% as adequate, and no app received a poor score.
Conclusions:
The study underscores the need for improved standards in pregnancy app development to enhance educational efficacy and user satisfaction. Healthcare providers should recommend high-quality pregnancy apps with appropriate content to ensure effective health promotion. Findings contribute to understanding the current landscape of pregnancy apps and highlight areas for future research and regulatory attention.
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Copyright
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