JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

Adolescents’ high engagement with smartphones creates opportunities for mobile health (mHealth) apps targeting dietary behaviours. However, despite the availability of diverse dietary mHealth apps, user engagement remains low. Existing quantitative literature has identified barriers and facilitators to app effectiveness in youths (10-19 years) but has not fully captured the nuanced perceptions of adolescents (12-19 years) who represent a unique life stage. Synthesizing similarities and differences in adolescents’ perceptions on what they value in dietary mHealth apps from qualitative studies may provide a more comprehensive understanding of app engagement and future design.

Objective:

We aimed to synthesize adolescents’ perceptions of using diverse dietary mHealth apps.

Methods:

A scoping review was conducted according to the 5-stage framework by Arksey and O’Malley. Eligible studies were published in English and reported on adolescents’ (12-19 years of age) perceptions of dietary mHealth apps using qualitative methods. Apps that were not specific to diet, only relied on text messaging, were delivered as part of a school—based intervention or telemedicine health, and housed on a website or social media platform were excluded. Five evidence sources (PsycINFO, Embase, Medline, Web of Science and CINAHL) were searched. Extracted data was charted by one researcher following a pilot test. Similarities and differences in adolescents’ perceptions were synthesized across studies using thematic analysis.

Results:

Of the 1195 search results, 14 met the eligibility criteria. We identified six themes that represented adolescents’ perceptions using dietary mHealth apps: 1. Functionality and Design; 2. Content and Depth; 3. Social Connection and Support; 4. Entertainment and Gamification; 5. Goal-Setting and Motivation; and 6. Perceived Effectiveness. Overall, adolescents perceived apps that are easy to navigate, foster social connections, are personalizable, and are gamified favourably. Apps that were felt to increase awareness of personal eating habits, often through tracking of calorie and foods consumed, and fostered awareness of personal well-being were especially discussed with perceived app effectiveness.

Conclusions:

The findings of this review provide an innovative synthesis of adolescents’ perceptions of diverse dietary mHealth apps using qualitative data. Notably, dietary mHealth apps that were perceived as easy to navigate, tailored (e.g., content), gamified and included social engagement were perceived favourably, regardless of their dietary target and features. Apps that were perceived to improve current dietary awareness were particularly valued. Inclusion of these elements into dietary mHealth apps may promote greater engagement. App developers should work with adolescents to establish how specific apps can incorporate these elements into their design, including how best to track dietary habits and integrated use of AI into app features.