A content analysis of precede-proceed constructs in stress management mobile apps.

Area of Science:

• Digital Health
• Mobile Health (mHealth)
• Behavioral Science

Background:

• Mobile devices, particularly the iPhone, offer a platform for third-party applications that enhance stress management capabilities.
• This study examines stress management applications within the health and fitness category of the Apple App Store.

Purpose of the Study:

• To provide an overview of available stress management apps.
• To evaluate the potential of these apps to influence health behavior change.

Main Methods:

• Content analysis of app descriptions from the Apple App Store.
• Utilized the Precede-Proceed Model (PPM) to code apps and assess behavior change potential.

Main Results:

• A high percentage of apps were plausible (96.9%) and intended for stress management (98.5%).
• Only 63.3% of apps were deemed recommendable.
• Reinforcing apps were less common than predisposing and enabling apps; very few (0.39%) included all three factors.

Conclusions:

• Most stress management apps primarily offer predisposing (information) or enabling (suggestions) factors.
• Few apps incorporate all three behavior change factors (predisposing, enabling, reinforcing).
• Practitioners should exercise caution when recommending stress management apps due to limited behavior change components.